


Little Heartbeat

by actualtrashking



Series: Girl on the Radio [2]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Babyfic, Domestic, Eventual Smut, F/F, Intersex, Trans Female Character, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-07-18 00:07:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 114,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7291648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualtrashking/pseuds/actualtrashking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waverly just stares at those two little pink lines- she knows they're going to change absolutely everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Waverly just stares at those two little pink lines. She doesn’t move from that one spot for a few seconds. She couldn’t bear to sit in Nicole’s tiny bathroom and wait on the results, so she just took the pregnancy test with her, which is how she has ended up staring at the positive result in the middle of her girlfriend’s living room.

And then the pacing starts.

In Waverly’s defense, the motion helps her- it matches how the inside of her head feels, at least. Everything is going a mile a minute in there, so why not make her body match her thoughts?

Her eyes flick to the window and briefly, she considers actually climbing out of it and running until her lungs burn. Not that that’s actually any sort of solution to her current situation, because it’s _not_ , no matter how inviting the idea of running for the hills seems right now.

This isn’t a _problem,_ though. She knows that. Intellectually, Waverly knows that this isn’t a problem. This doesn’t need a solution and yet...she can’t stop thinking about bolting out of Nicole’s house.

Her strong urge to run away _does_ seem to be becoming a problem by the second, though. With that thought, Waverly stops pacing where she stands. There is still so much in her head. Mainly, those two pink lines and exactly what they mean.

She walks from the living room down the hall and back into the bathroom, her eyes scan over the five pregnancy tests sitting on various ledges in the bathroom. Three sit on one side of the sink, the last two are on the edge of the tub. Waverly plops down on the closed toilet seat and looks over at the two tests closest to her.

The first one had come up positive and Waverly already had the second on hand, just in case. Except that when that one read out positive _too,_ she couldn’t stop herself from grabbing her car keys and driving to the Piggly Wiggly, cursing her lack of forethought in this whole endeavor. Attempting to save face, she just grabbed random items off the shelves in hopes of disguising her actual reason for being there.

Purgatory is a small town and people _will_ talk if given the opportunity.

That’s where the other three tests came from, all reading positive. Honestly, Waverly was aware that after the second test mirrored the first’s results, it was pretty much certain. However, that did not stop the panic bubbling up in her stomach and the overwhelming need to get just _one more_ test- which resulted in the five currently staring her in the face.

Waverly is jostled out of her thoughts as her phone buzzes in her pocket. She fishes it out and her stomach drops as she reads the text.

Received (7:08)  
Nicole: On my way home, can’t wait for date night <3

_Date night_.

Of course this had to happen on their previously agreed upon date night. Waverly straightens her back and nods to herself. That’s it, she’s not going to tell Nicole. She knows that eventually she will _have_ to tell Nicole the truth, but for now, she can keep it to herself.

“Shit!” Waverly seethes as she looks at the pregancy tests strewn around the bathroom and the various ripped open boxes they came in. She has to get rid of the evidence, at least for now. Sometimes dating a cop isn’t as sexy as when said cop girlfriend is beating the shit out of Champ Hardy, homophobe extraordinaire.

Waverly’s in full panic mode and grabs whatever she can reach, which means two pregnancy tests and one box. The box and one of the tests falls out of her hands almost immediately and she’s cursing on her way down to pick them up off of the floor, but upon straightening, she realizes there is going to be more than she can carry in one trip. Not that something as inconsequential as logic is going to stop her from trying. She ends up with all of the pregnancy tests in hand, and three boxes, which means most of the aforementioned items are just haphazardly in her arms, pressed tight against her body.

Waverly can feel the boxes daring to slip from her grasp, and she tries to bolt out of the bathroom but ends up moving in the wrong direction.

“No, nope” She mutters, quickly corrects herself, and heads out of the bathroom, only to lose two tests on the way out; one dropping in the doorway of the bathroom, and the other sitting lonely and silently mocking her in the hallway.

Waverly looks back and considers going back for it, but stops dead in her tracks when she hears paws hitting the hardwood in a full out sprint. Orie, Waverly and Nicole’s mini Australian Shepherd puppy, comes bounding down the hallway, tail wagging frantically as he heads straight for the lone mocking pregnancy test.

“No, Orie! It’s not playtime; stop it!” Waverly yells as she dives for the pregnancy test, only to have Orie snatch it up in his mouth, her hand landing inches away from where the test had been.

Waverly gets up, the other tests and boxes abandoned on the floor at her feet as she tries desperately to wrangle Orie in and get the test from him.

“Oreo, come on, you don’t want that; Mommy peed on it!” Waverly frantically argues, though she knows the puppy is hearing none of it as he goes into a play bow.

Waverly starts circling Orie- or at least tries to. The puppy hops away from her when she gets too close. “You literally sleep for like 23 hours! Why did you have to wake up now?!” Waverly grumbles to herself.

Orie barks in response and continues wagging his tail happily, oblivious to Waverly’s distress- that or the little bastard is just choosing to ignore it in favor of playing. Finally, Waverly manages to distract him enough to grab at the applicator side of the pregnancy test and pulls it out of his mouth. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come back in one piece.

“Oreo Henry Haught, do _not_ swallow that!” Waverly yells as Orie starts chewing on the bits of plastic he pulled off of the test.

Waverly grabs for him and he immediately starts squirming in her arms, trying to break free.

“If you had just listened to me, we wouldn’t be in this mess, Mister.” Waverly begins lecturing as she pries open Orie’s mouth and picks out the plastic.

Orie for his part is whimpering and whining the entire time as he tries to get away and once Waverly is sure all of the plastic is out of his mouth and in her hand, she situates him under her arm, holding him around the middle like a football; a furry, squirmy football.

“Can’t have you running around like that; this isn’t playtime.” Waverly scolds him lightly, moving towards the pile of abandoned pregnancy tests and boxes.

She picks them all up and Orie tries to get down on the floor the moment his feet are almost close enough to reach. The sound of a slamming car door has Waverly bolting upright and moving as fast as she can, running around in a frantic small circle in the middle of the living room as her brain tries to find the quickest solution to her growing laundry list of problems.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Waverly chants to herself. A puppy yawn is the only thing that  breaks into her frantic mumblings. “At least one of us is calm.” Waverly grumbles to Orie.

Finally, Waverly has an idea as she stands still for a few seconds, her eyes landing on the couch. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s as good enough as any she has right now and it will have to do. Waverly upends one of the couch cushions and shoves everything underneath, positioning the cushion back into it’s proper place and patting it back down to look like it hadn’t had about five pregnancy tests and their numerous corresponding boxes just unceremoniously shoved underneath it.

_Five_.

“Shiiiit!” Waverly seethes as she runs to the hallway, her socked feet skidding as she turns the corner.

Somehow by the grace of God, Nicole hasn’t come in yet and Waverly manages to shove the test in between two cushions on the couch before setting Orie down on the floor beside the couch. Thankfully, Orie is now too preoccupied with the notion of Nicole coming home to worry about anything but the front door as he runs straight for it, almost slamming head first into it as his paws skid against the floor.

Waverly starts pacing again because really, what else is there to do? She hears the front door open and Orie barking his appreciation for Nicole’s return home. It only takes a few seconds for Nicole’s voice to carry through to the living room, tone high pitched and words overly gentle. Waverly knows that Nicole will deny using baby talk with the dog until her dying day, but she still absolutely does it at every given opportunity.

“Hey, Baby!” Nicole says, Orie now held in her arms, though weakly struggling to get down, seemingly unsure if he wants to keep trying to lick at Nicole’s face or run around in circles for five hours

Waverly knows this particular greeting is for her because Nicole uses her big girl voice. There’s a pause, and suddenly Waverly can feel the light-hearted atmosphere leave the room and she knows it’s her fault.

“Oh no, you’re pacing; what’s wrong?” Nicole says, placing Orie down on the floor and walking over to Waverly,

Waverly finally stops pacing and looks at Nicole. She’s going for a reassuring smile, but is almost certain it’s come out as an almost pained grimace.

“Nothing!” Waverly blurts out, her voice sounding frantic even to her.

The look on Nicole’s face says she’s not buying a word of it, and that only makes Waverly need to _fix_ this somehow.

“I said that too fast, didn’t I?” Waverly starts in, “But really, nothing’s _wrong_ \- at least, I hope not. I mean, _I_ don’t think anything’s wrong…” Waverly starts, moving again, her hands gesturing with her words and she starts slowly pacing in front of Nicole, not bothering with eye contact- too caught up in her own thoughts to remember fully that she is actually talking to someone.

“Oh god,” Waverly stops dead in her tracks, muttering her next words. “I hope _you_ don’t think anything’s wrong.” She starts moving again after a few seconds pause. “I mean, it’s good, right? I think it’s good. I think... This is just a lot, you know?” Waverly finally finishes, looking up at Nicole now, searching for some sort of reassurance.

She gets a blank stare.

“Uh, what just happened?”

‘I’m pregnant!” Waverly blurts out, the exact thing she was trying _not_ to do.

Good going, Earp.

Nicole isn’t saying anything. She’s just standing there, silent, and Waverly wonders if she actually _did_ say anything. Maybe this can be salvaged somehow and she only _thinks_ she let the cat out of the bag. Waverly opens her mouth to say something, anything. Of course she hasn’t thought far enough ahead to know _what_ she wants to say, she just knows this silence is becoming increasingly uncomfortable and someone has to break it. Experience shows that it’s usually Waverly that breaks their silences, so why stop now?

Nicole beats her to the punch.

“You’re _what_?” Nicole asks, blinking rapidly in disbelief.

Well, so much for not having said anything.

“I, um, I’m pregnant?” Waverly lilts the phrase up at the end with a small laugh, making it a question that should never be asked.

Nicole is just standing there again. Waverly’s half-tempted to just shake her into doing something because all of this nonresponsive stuff is really very unhelpful, given the current circumstances. Where are those cop reflexes when you need them?

Until Nicole starts grinning so big it shows dimples, and Waverly deflates some, her worry having been getting the better of her. Nicole seems pleased, and that’s good because Waverly didn’t really know what she would have done otherwise.

Except the grin falters after a few seconds, and now Waverly is back on high alert as Nicole’s eyes start searching Waverly’s face, as if trying to get some answers to questions she has yet to ask.

“What?” Waverly asks, panic rising in her voice, unbidden.

“Are- are you sure you want this?” Nicole asks, soft and searching.

Waverly can’t help but smile, relieved, and goes up on tiptoes as she grabs Nicole’s face and awkwardly connects their mouths in a kiss that Waverly hopes is reassuring.

“Yes, I want this.” Waverly whispers, inches away from Nicole’s lips.

“Okay, but if you weren’t sure, that would be okay. I don’t want to- I just want you to know   _you_ always have a choice in this, Waves.”

“Believe me, I am fully aware.” Waverly says, leaning back down, her feet planted firmly, now.

“So, we’re doing this?” Nicole asks, her eyes lighting up, and Waverly can’t help but draw similarities between her girlfriend and their puppy.

“Mhm.” Waverly hums in agreement.

Nicole leans down and pulls Waverly close, her arm going around Waverly’s waist. They’re kissing and Waverly is very much enjoying this development until Nicole finally pulls back and asks the one question that should have crossed Waverly’s mind but up until this moment hadn’t.

“You did take a test, right?” Nicole asks.

“No, I just went down to the beauty shop and the old biddies there just up and said,’Hey, you’re looking a little pregnant there, Waverly!’ because that’s how we hicks do it.” Waverly deadpans, looking up at Nicole, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m genuinely curious, did you think that was actually funny?” Nicole shoots back in reply.

“I am hilarious, Officer Haught. I do not like what you seem to be implying.” Waverly replies, turning back towards the couch.

“But for real, you have a test, right?” Nicole asks, grabbing for Waverly’s arm, her thumb rubbing up and down softly over Waverly’s pulse point.

Sometimes Waverly wants to ask if those little touches are intentional or just what Nicole does. But Waverly never actually gets the courage to ask because she’s actually enjoying not fully knowing. It’s nice to just think Nicole is that in tune with what she needs without her having to _say_ anything.

“That’s what I’m trying to show you.” Waverly says, finally stopping and standing next to the couch.

“The...couch?” Nicole asks, her eyes flicking from the couch to Waverly.

“No- I mean, yes- kind of.” Waverly babbles.

“Explain yourself, Woman.”

Waverly doesn’t say anything, just leans down and reaches into the cushions. Orie decides to jump up onto the couch that exact second and starts nudging her arm with his nose, trying to get at whatever she is going for- most likely thinking it’s another one of his toys he lost down in the abyss of the couch.

“Orie, stop.” Nicole scolds, pushing Orie back from Waverly and off of the couch.

“Here.” Waverly says as she pushes the test into Nicole’s hands.

Nicole takes it and looks it over, grinning before looking at it rather confused. She flicks her eyes back up to Waverly’s face.

“I’m not even going to ask why it was shoved in the couch, but uh, why does it have bite marks all over it?” Nicole asks as she holds up the test to show Waverly.

“Shit, that was the one Orie got.” Waverly says as she snatches it back from Nicole.

“How many did you take?” Nicole asks, looking at Waverly incredulously.

Waverly doesn’t bother answering, she just grabs Orie and then lifts up the couch cushion, exposing the other five pregnancy tests and boxes she had hidden there in preparation of Nicole coming home.Nicole just stands there, staring down at the numerous tests silently before speaking without looking up at Waverly at first.

“So, I have to ask, Baby. Are you _sure_ you’re pregnant?”

Waverly smacks Nicole in the arm as she replies, “Hey, you never know! There are false positives all the time. I mean, something could be giving me some kind of hormone imbalance that’s making everything wacko and making the tests come out positive!”

“Yeah, like a baby.” Nicole quips.

* * *

 

“You know where we’re going, right?” Waverly can’t help but ask as she climbs into Nicole’s truck, slams the door, and buckles her seatbelt.

“Yes, Waverly, I’m pretty sure the two different print outs you gave me, my GPS, and the fact that I have been to Fort Collins numerous times means we won’t be getting lost.”

Waverly shifts in her seat and reaches for Nicole’s hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous and you know me, I like to-”

“-You like to plan. Yes, I know.” Nicole says, finishing Waverly’s sentence with a soft  smile.

“It’s not like _this_ whole thing-” Waverly gestures in a wide circle to her stomach that is still completely flat at this point, “-was exactly _planned_. I just like to- to know…” Waverly’s grasping for the end to her sentence, unable to properly find its end.

“To know where you’re headed?” Nicole offers up

“Exactly.” Waverly agrees with a small nod.

Waverly does want to know where they’re headed, and not just in the literal sense when getting to their appointment. Her pregnancy wasn’t planned at all and has taken her for a loop numerous times in just the last few days after finding out.

Nicole starts up the truck and pulls out to the driveway and they’re off. Waverly insisted that they set up their appointment outside of Purgatory on the very real basis that it would get around to the whole town if she so much as made an _inquiry_ with the local OB/GYN. Nicole thankfully put up no resistance to this, but it also means them taking Nicole’s day off and going all the way to Fort Collins for an ultrasound.

Waverly watches as the town fades into the passenger side mirror. There are some moments that Waverly enjoys being from a small town, but this is not one of them. Especially not with Dr. Reynolds as her only local option. She is pretty sure he is about 800 years old, and he constantly goes on about how he delivered not only her, but her sisters, and leers about how _nicely_ she has grown up.

Waverly shivers at the memory and then looks over at Nicole, who is focused on the nearly-deserted road. She knows once they get closer to the next few towns the traffic will pick up, but for now, it feels like it’s just them.

Waverly’s excited but also nervous. She may have obsessively planned out how to get to her appointment, but she didn’t actually bother researching what would happen once she got there. While she supposes there isn’t much to an ultrasound, her stomach still flips with her nerves.

The radio plays softly as they go further from town and Nicole absently flips through stations until one finally comes in clear- or at least, as clear as they will get being in this in-between. Waverly likes that Nicole has these little habits, like playing the radio softly even when she’s not in the police cruiser and therefore doesn’t need to listen for any situations in progress. The habits are a constant; something Waverly knows she can rely on.

Waverly knows for a fact that Nicole could go the whole two and a half hour drive in silence or static from the radio and be perfectly fine. Waverly, however, would go insane from the lack of stimuli.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, they see the mile markers for Fort Collins and thankfully, the numbers keep getting smaller and smaller until they are passing the sign reading ‘Welcome to Fort Collins’ and Waverly scoots up in her seat as if that will get them to the doctor’s office faster.

Nicole pulls into the parking lot of the doctor’s office and parks the truck. They don’t immediately get out- well, Nicole unbuckles her seatbelt and reaches for the door handle, but Waverly hasn’t moved a muscle yet.

“I don’t think I can do this.” Waverly whispers

“Hey, it’s okay; this is going to be good.” Nicole says, reaching over and grabbing Waverly’s hand.

Waverly takes a deep breath in and then out as she tries to steady her nerves. She nods to herself, looks over at Nicole, and then smiles before releasing Nicole’s hand and climbing out of the truck.

They link hands again when Waverly walks over to the entrance to the office and that seems to help steady her a bit. She’s excited but nervous, she’s not exactly sure what she’s getting herself into, and everything is starting to feel _very_ real as they walk up to the front desk and Waverly fills out all the necessary paperwork.

“Waverly Earp?”

Waverly’s head snaps up as her name is called and she gets up from her seat. She’s thankful it didn’t take any longer to get into a doctor’s actual office than it has because she is certain she would have jumped out of her skin entirely, had it.

“You’re okay.” Nicole whispers into Waverly’s hair as they start to follow the nurse down the hallway and settle into the small exam room.

“Here you go.” The nurse says, handing Waverly a hospital gown.

Waverly looks down at the paper gown in her hands and before she can actually ask what exactly the hell this is for, the nurse is gone with a comment about the doctor being with her shortly.

“You heard her; get undressed.” Nicole says from her seat by the door.

“Stop enjoying this so much.” Waverly says, shooting Nicole a glare before she does, in fact, get undressed.

She wordlessly shoves her pile of clothes (neatly folded, thank you very much) at Nicole and then hops up on the exam table, fiddling absently with the hospital gown covering her.

There is a part of her that wants to ask what is going on, but she is pretty sure that Nicole will be just as lost as she is. And besides that, she doesn’t exactly want to let on that she has no idea what is happening.

Nicole gets up from her seat and fiddles with the various items sitting on the counter. A jar of cotton balls entertains her for all of five seconds before she sets sight on a box of rubber gloves.

“Jackpot!”

“What are you doing?” Waverly asks, looking over at her girlfriend like she has gone completely insane- and Waverly’s not entirely sure Nicole _hasn’t._

“Nothing.” Nicole mumbles as she brings the opening of the glove to her mouth and proceeds to blow it up like a balloon.

“Oh my god, you’re a five year old.” Waverly says, before Nicole starts letting the air out of the glove slowly, making a high pitched hissing sound.

“Okay, so Waverly Earp, is it?” The doctor walks into the exam room.

Said entrance is followed by Nicole expelling all the air in her rubber glove, loudly.

“Sorry.” Nicole mumbles as both Waverly and her doctor look over at Nicole.

“And who might you be?” Dr. Atwood asks, holding her hand out to shake Nicole’s

“Um, I’m the father?” Nicole offers as she looks over at Waverly and then back to Dr. Atwood.

“Uhh, okay then.” Dr. Atwood replies before turning her attention back to Waverly.

Waverly sees Nicole shrug as Dr. Atwood turns her back to her and on one hand, Waverly knows she can’t exactly be mad about the comment. But on the other hand, she absolutely is.

“So, we’re here for your first ultrasound, correct?”

Waverly nods in reply.

“Okay, so why don’t you lay back and we can get you all set up.” Dr. Atwood says as she applies light pressure to Waverly’s shoulder to guide her down onto the exam table. “Someone explained the procedure to you already, yes?”

“Uh, actually, no.” Waverly says in reply, hoping she doesn’t sound as nervous as she feels.

“Oh, well, it’s nothing to be concerned about. We won’t be doing a transabdominal ultrasound today as it’s too early for that. Instead, we will be doing a transvaginal ultrasound that may seem daunting in theory, but  it’s routine and painless, I promise.”

“Wait a minute, wait, wait. Do you mean that you’re going to _probe_ her?” Nicole asks, poorly hiding the amusement in her voice.

Waverly really wishes she could strangle her girlfriend right about now. Unfortunately, there are witnesses and Nicole would take far too much satisfaction out of the ordeal.

“Well, we do use an ultrasound probe-”

“Oh my god, Waves, you could be on an episode of X-Files!”

“I hope you know you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.” Waverly deadpans, glaring daggers at Nicole.

“Okay, so how about we get this underway, shall we?” Dr. Atwood says, ignoring Nicole’s comment completely.

“Yes, _please._ ” Waverly says, wanting this whole thing over with as soon as possible because one of them is enjoying it far too much and it is decidedly not her.

Waverly lies back on the exam table and Dr. Atwood lifts the stirrups and locks them into place, instructing Waverly to scoot down the table a bit more. Waverly complies and tries to relax as Dr. Atwood inserts the prepared probe.

“Okay, we should be getting a picture now and do you hear that?” Dr. Atwood asks, pausing as a frantic small fluttering sound fills the room.

Waverly and Nicole both nod, Nicole having gotten up to stand beside Waverly when the doctor was preparing the equipment.

“That would be your baby’s heartbeat.”

Waverly can’t help but tear up at that information because this is all very real. There is a tiny life forming inside of her and she can literally hear her daughter’s heartbeat. Granted, they haven't gotten a gender confirmation and are still a ways off of it even being a possibility, but Waverly just knows. She is going to have a little girl.

“Okay, from all of this Ms. Earp, you seem to be about seven weeks along. Does that sound about right?”  Dr. Atwood asks, adjusting the probe slightly.

“Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.” Waverly says, gripping Nicole’s hand.

The rest of the appointment is a blur. Of course they went over other information and it’s all important, but Waverly was pretty much stuck on that heartbeat; her _little girl’s_ heartbeat- it was probably one of the best sounds she has ever heard in her life.

They leave the clinic and Waverly walks around to the passenger side of the truck as she waits for Nicole to unlock it so she can climb inside. Her mind is still reeling; all of this is so much more solid to her, now. Waverly can’t help grinning to herself as she climbs in the truck and buckles her seatbelt before they head back to Purgatory.

It’s about halfway through the drive that Waverly’s mind stumbles back to one particular detail. She is about seven weeks along, and she can’t stop herself from doing the math and working backwards to exactly what time they conceived.

The moment it hits her, Waverly bursts out laughing. Said laughter turns to distress and then actual crying before she even realizes what’s happening. Nicole looks over at Waverly at that and her smile falls immediately.

“Baby, Waves, what’s wrong?” Nicole asks, her voice laced with concern.

“I- it- oh my god we-” Waverly’s full out sobbing, now and she can’t catch her words fast enough to string together a proper sentence.

She feels Nicole pull the truck over to the side of the road and looks over when she turns the engine off.

“Waverly, come on, just try to take deep breaths and then talk to me, okay?” Nicole says, her voice soft and patient as she runs her hand up and down Waverly’s thigh.

Waverly just keeps sobbing for a few more seconds that feel like hours until finally she calms down enough to get her realization out.

“We conceived this baby on top of your police cruiser!” Waverly wails.

“What?” Nicole asks, genuinely confused.

“I- I did the math and that’s the only time that fits. Oh my god, our daughter was conceived in the middle of a federal offense!”

“Waverly, I don’t think it’s a federal offense-”

“But do you know, Nicole? Do you _know_?”

“Well it’s not like anyone just outright asks that sort of-”

“Oh my god, my sisters can _never_ find out about this!” Waverly says smacking at Nicole’s arm frantically.

“Yes, because I was planning on going out and telling Wynonna and Willa the exact instance I got you pregnant.”

“Now is not the time for jokes!” Waverly snaps as she shifts in her seat and wipes at her eyes, still crying but not outright sobbing anymore.

In all honesty, Waverly can’t really wrap her head around the fact that she got pregnant _that_ time they had sex. It wasn’t even an impromptu thing. They planned out the scene, for Christ’s sake!

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But it’s not a big deal.”

“Says the one who _didn’t_ get knocked up on top of a cop car!”

“Just try to calm down, okay? What matters is that we have that little bean in there.” Nicole says as she starts the truck up again and pulls out onto the road, heading back to Purgatory.

There’s a considerable pause as Waverly calms down and focuses on the radio crackling and going in and out.

“Did you just call our daughter a bean?” Waverly asks as the last few moments filter through her mind.

“Well, I mean, that’s about as big as it is right now. Not even.” Nicole offers up in justification.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Waverly says as she leans her head back against the headrest.

Waverly wasn’t even aware she had fallen asleep until Nicole was on the other side of the truck, door swung open, shaking Waverly’s shoulder gently, trying to wake her. Waverly doesn’t want to wake up, though. She was having a good dream, the details of which seem to be fading with the general condition of being awake. But she can still remember it was a good dream, at the very least.

“Come on, I brought you home.”

Waverly doesn’t open her eyes as she replies, “Mm, go get Orie. I want puppy cuddles.”

“Orie isn’t here, Waves. We’re at the homestead.” Nicole corrects her.

Waverly’s eyes shoot open at that piece of information and she clamors out of the truck, forgetting briefly to take off her seatbelt before she moved.

“God damn stupid thing.” Waverly grumbles as she fights with the seatbelt, finally claiming victory over the small device.

Waverly did not expect to be taken back to the homestead. She knows she probably should have expected it, given that Wynonna still isn’t exactly in the loop of everything. Though if she’s honest, Waverly is pretty certain Wynonna has picked up on things between her and Nicole- context clues do matter and it’s not like Wynonna is _blind_.

Waverly gets out of the truck, slams the door behind her, and tries to situate herself a bit better, smoothing her hands down her clothes.

“Come on.” Waverly says, dragging Nicole by the hand towards the house.

“I thought I was just going to drop you off?” Nicole asks, following behind Waverly all the same.

“Nope, we have to have a conversation- you, me, my sisters…” Waverly trails off.

Nicole stops where she stands and pulls Waverly back in the process.

“Wait, we're going to tell them _now_?” Nicole asks, taken aback.

“Well, why not? They’re my family and this all just became really real and I just- I don’t like hiding things from them.” Waverly finishes, looking up at Nicole.

“No need to break out the puppy dog eyes, we can tell them...thank god we already had that one discussion with Willa before.” Nicole says before they turn back towards the house.

Waverly doesn’t say anything. She knows Willa hasn’t exactly been the most graceful in situations involving Nicole before, but she has been making huge strides when it comes to actually reacclimating with the world at large, and especially with Wynonna and Waverly herself. They aren’t the kids they once were and Willa has been doing her best to make up for past mistakes and avoid making any new ones, though Waverly can’t say her sister has been a saint.

Wynonna on the other hand has always just been Wynonna. Waverly is concerned about how she’ll take the news, but she’s not overly concerned or anything. Wynonna has been there for Waverly since she came back to Purgatory- they’ve really cultivated a relationship, now.

They make their way inside the house and Waverly calls out, her voice carrying through most of the house, she knows.

“Wynonna? Willa? You guys here?”

Wynonna grunts a reply from the direction of the kitchen while Willa appears at the top of the stairs when her name is called. Waverly tries really hard to ignore the way Willa’s eyes harden at the sight of Nicole standing in the doorway.

“Can you come down here Will? I need to talk to _both_ of you.” Waverly stresses the word both as she leans towards the kitchen, trying to convey her message to both of her sisters at once, even if she hasn’t addressed Wynonna by name in this particular instance.

Soon enough, they are all crammed into the kitchen, Wynonna with her head planted firmly on the kitchen table and Willa standing against the door jamb looking very _Willa._ Waverly tries to ignore all the words that come to mind in relation, like disgruntled, suspicious,  _royally pissed_ …

“So I have something I want to tell you.” Waverly starts in, unsure of just exactly how she is going to break this news.

“Shoot, kid.” Wynonna says, picking her head up off of the kitchen table and immediately getting up and rummaging through the fridge.

“Uh, could you maybe sit back down?” Waverly asks, trying to regain some modicum of order.

“Is whatever you’re going to tell me going to magically stop me from being hungry?” Wynonna asks, head still very much buried in the fridge.

“Well no, but-” Waverly is cut off.

“Then I think I’ll keep doing what I’m doing and you just keep talkin” Wynonna says, finally reemerging from the fridge, food in hand. She shuts the door with her foot and sets the food on the counter as she begins to make a sandwich

“Well, I’d really like it if you were actually _paying attention._ ” Waverly bites back, annoyed now.

“I am, I am.” Wynonna replies absently with her back to Waverly still, licking her fingers clean of condiments.

“Wynonna!” Waverly snaps, finally getting her sister’s attention..

“Okay, okay, I’m here! Geez, what crawled up your ass?” Wynonna says as she places her plate down and then pulls out a chair from the table settling in to eat.

“I’m trying to tell you something important and you’re just making a-a-” Waverly gestures awkwardly at Wynonna’s plate “-a damn _sandwich!_ ”

“Well sorry if I’m hungry, but that hasn’t stopped you from talking, so go ahead already.” Wynonna replies, rolling her wrist in a few small circles, gesturing for Waverly to continue what she was saying.

“Okay, I know this might come as a bit of a shock but I-”

“Kid, the only thing that could come as a shock is if you told me you were having Champ Hardy’s baby.” Wynonna interrupts through a mouthful of sandwich.

“-I’m pregnant.” Waverly finishes into dead silence.

“Oh my god, I’m going to _kill him!_ ” Wynonna growls out after a few seconds, abandoning her sandwich and standing up, her chair scraping against the linoleum of the kitchen floor.

Waverly grabs for Wynonna’s arm, trying to pull her back down.

“No, it’s not-”

“Who is Champ?” Willa asks, confused.

“He’s my ex.” Waverly supplies.

“He’s a dead man walking.” Wynonna replies at the same time.

“Wynonna, will you just stop and listen to me?” Waverly begs, trying to keep Wynonna from storming out of the kitchen.

“He knocked you up! He got my baby sister pregnant and I-” Wynonna is cut off by Nicole, who up until this point had been a spectator

“It's my baby!” Nicole yells above the fray as she stands up.

Everyone stops and stares at Nicole, Wynonna’s mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“You’re out of your goddamn mind is what _you_ are.” Wynonna finally says as she sits back down, her body falling into the seat heavily.

“No, I’m intersex.” Nicole offers as explanation, “I have a condition called Mosaic Klinefelter syndrome and basically it means that-”

“Kiefer Sutherland- what now?” Wynonna blurts out, confused.

“Mosaic Klinefelter Syndrome, I was born with XXY chromosomes and--” Nicole starts in, her voice becoming almost methodical as she jumps into her usual spiel.

Wynonna doesn’t let her get that far.

“I really won’t remember any of the details to be honest so we can just skip that unless anyone here has any objections?” Wynonna asks, looking around the room.

“Well, I-” Willa starts, but is immediately shut down.

“Not you, Chuckles. That is a conversation best had alone where I can never have it burned into my memory” Wynonna snaps in reply.

Wynonna claps her hands together and holds them to her chest for a second before letting them fall back at her sides.

“Okay, so you-” Wynonna points to Nicole, “knocked up my _baby sister_ and you-” Wynonna looks to Waverly “-are okay with this?” Wynonna finally finishes.

“I, um, yeah?” Nicole replies before looking over at Waverly.

Waverly isn’t really sure what is happening at the moment, so she’s sure whatever Nicole is looking for from her right now is nowhere to be found.

“Waves?” Wynonna’s says Waverly’s name like a question and Waverly’s not exactly sure how to explain the churning in her stomach other than _bad_.

“I- yeah I am absolutely okay with it, Wynonna.” Waverly reassures her.

“Well then, at least I won’t have to tell you to get a ten second head start, Nicole.” Wynonna says with a hollow laugh as she clasps her hand onto Nicole’s shoulder.

“As if I would need a head start from you, Earp.” Nicole snaps back in reply.

Waverly watches the two of them, still not sure how to take the situation but at least thankful that is hasn’t come to any bodily harm, yet. Whatever happens from this point out, at least everyone is aware of the situation and that’s all Waverly could really ask for at this point.

“So, Haught what exactly are your intentions with my sister?” Wynonna asks, looking from Waverly to Nicole “And remember, I have a big ass gun and I know how to use it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole has an idea to run past Wynonna... and so it seems, Willa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eventually has come...and so will Waverly
> 
> AKA this chapter got away from me and i'm bumping the rating up to an E
> 
> ...Enjoy!

Nicole fidgets with the ring box in her pocket. She already knew she wanted to propose to Waverly at some point, but this pregnancy has moved that timetable up _considerably_.

“What exactly did you want to talk about?” Wynonna asks from her seat on the couch, which looks like she has made it her home. There are blankets strewn around on it with one slung up on the back of it, as if Wynonna just threw it off of her in a hurry- and given Wynonna’s current state of dress, that might be exactly the case.

Nicole tries to focus on anything other than the fact that besides a flimsy cardigan hanging over her shoulders haphazardly, Wynonna is in nothing but her underwear.

That is actually probably Nicole’s fault. She called Wynonna up early this morning when she couldn’t sleep and asked if they could talk privately. Wynonna rasped out an, “Okay dude.” before immediately hanging up on her.

And now here they are.

“It’s about Waverly.” Nicole starts in, and Wynonna immediately snaps to attention.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, I just- uh-” Nicole cuts herself off and looks from Wynonna up to the ceiling “- do you think you could put some clothes on?” Nicole asks, finally unable to avoid the elephant in the room.

She’s still looking at the ceiling when Wynonna replies.

“Oh shit! Yeah, sure, just let me…” Wynonna trails off and gets up from the couch and Nicole finally looks back down to where Wynonna had just been sitting.

“Find my…” Wynonna continues to talk as she walks around the living room, searching.

“Pants!” Wynonna exclaims in victory, and Nicole half wonders just how hard Wynonna drank last night that finding her pants come morning is, in fact, a victory.

“Okay, so you were saying?” Wynonna says from behind Nicole, shimmying into her pants; Nicole can hear the rustling of fabric.

“Well, I just wanted to run something by you, I guess.” Nicole says, trying to find the best words for this.

“Shoot!” Wynonna says, and laughs at her own joke- or at least, what Nicole assumes was supposed to be a joke.

“Well, I-” Nicole starts, but is cut off by Wynonna.

“Excuse me, I just have to…” Wynonna says, stretching over Nicole trying to grab for her t-shirt that's hanging half off the armrest of the couch.

“I- oh, fuck it.” Nicole finally gives up trying to speak and instead just pulls the ring box from her pocket, opening it and holding it out to Wynonna.

There’s a pause as the information hangs between them, and then Wynonna gasps and pulls her shirt to her chest, hugging it there tightly.

“So, what do you think?” Nicole asks, breaking the silence.

“It’s short notice but… yes!” Wynonna then jumps in place a little bit as she continues, her voice soaked in an over-excitement that Nicole knows is mocking. “Yes, I’ll marry you!”

Nicole snaps the ring box shut before Wynonna can make to grab for it and complete the farce of a proposal she is putting on.

“It’s for _Waverly,_ you jackass.” Nicole says, putting the ring box back in her pocket.

“Hate to break it to you, but she’s going to say no.” Wynonna says as she actually starts to pull her shirt on. “Waverly's not the type for shotgun weddings.” Wynonna finishes, pulling her head through the neck hole of her shirt and situating herself.

“It’s not a shotgun wedding!” Nicole blurts out, offended that Wynonna would assume as much.

“Mm, then you better make sure _she_ knows that when you pull out that ring.” Wynonna says, pointing to Nicole’s pocket. “Good choice, by the way. Very Waverly.”

Nicole can’t help but smile at that. She had taken her time choosing the right ring. There had been a lot of very pretty options, but none of them felt right. Then she stumbled upon one that just reminded her completely of Waverly and she immediately knew she had to have it. That ring is the one currently sitting in her pocket.

“Wait, you weren’t going to ask me for her hand or something, were you?” Wynonna asks, breaking Nicole out of her thoughts.

“What? No! I just wanted to see if you thought she would be okay with me asking. I mean, we talked about it before all of this, but that was about a future that wasn’t so solid and now...now ours really is, and I want to marry her, Wynonna. I really do.” Nicole says, looking over at Wynonna, hoping she’s getting her point across.

“Well, if you ask her with that puppy dog look on your face, I doubt she could even think about saying no.” Wynonna says with a soft smile.

“Thanks. Really.” Nicole says.

They stay there like that for a few seconds, just looking at one another, and it honestly feels like some sort of silent agreement is passing between them until their moment is shattered by the slamming of the front door.

“Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?” Willa asks as she walks into the living room.

Nicole stiffens at the sight of Willa. She can’t help it, really. Her first interaction with Willa was not the best, and interactions since then have been rocky at best.

“No, for once.” Nicole bites out in reply.

Usually, Waverly is around to soften the blow of Willa’s bluntness or social missteps. Now though, Nicole has to face this interaction without her, and she’s not exactly sure she wants to put the effort in, no matter how many times Waverly assures her that Willa really is _trying._

“Nicole here was just showing off this pretty little ring she got for our dear baby sister.” Wynonna offers up, clasping a hand on Nicole’s shoulder and clearly demonstrating an inability to read the room.

Must be the hangover.

“Oh.” That one word sort of falls out of Willa’s mouth, and Nicole braces herself for whatever might be next.

She did not see this coming.

“Can I see?” Willa asks, moving closer to Nicole.

Nicole bites back the urge to step back in response, but she fishes out the ring box anyway. She’s actually glad that Wynonna’s hand dropped back at her side because now she doesn’t feel as _trapped_ as before.

Nicole watches Willa’s face when she opens the box to show her the ring sitting inside. Strangely, she doesn’t read any emotion she expected to find on Willa’s face.

Instead, Willa just looks captivated by the ring- hell, she’s even smiling, and Nicole previously thought that an impossibility when they were within 50 yards of one another.

“She’ll love it.” Willa says, looking up from the ring to meet Nicole’s gaze.

“Glad you think so.” Nicole is genuinely surprised at this development.

“It’s just a shame you’re only thinking about marriage _after_ you got her pregnant.” Willa adds, and shatters all of their progress.

Nicole snaps the ring box shut and is only a _little bit_ disappointed that she doesn’t catch Willa’s fingers in the process.

Maybe they _are_ making progress.

“Slow your roll, Killer. We want to keep this one around and there’s only room for one guard dog in this family,” Wynonna says, clasping her hand on Willa’s shoulder and pushing her back from Nicole just a fraction.

“Anyway,” Nicole starts, sliding her eyes from Willa to Wynonna as she pockets the ring again, “I’m going to ask her tonight, so you’ll know the verdict in a few hours.”  

Everyone’s attention goes to the doorway of the living room as Waverly comes flouncing inside.

“Oh, you guys look… friendly?” Waverly’s smile falters slightly as her expression turns suspicious, “What did I miss?”

“Well, if you want honesty, Waves, I had a great night sandwiched between my boys until I crawled back here drunk off of my _fine_ ass and passed out.” Wynonna says with a smug grin.

“I never should have asked.” Waverly groans in reply.

“Why are you back here? I thought you were going to bury yourself in some revhead research today. You were all giddy about it this morning.” Nicole says, walking over to where Waverly is leaning against the door jamb.

“Nerd!” Wynonna coughs from behind Nicole.

Waverly’s eyes flick to Wynonna as she glares at her. “If I had something to throw at you, I would.”

Two things happen simultaneously. There is a dull thud from Wynonna’s general direction, and Wynonna yelps.

“Ow! Hey, no hitting!”

Waverly’s eyes light up, and Nicole can’t help but look back at Wynonna and Willa.

“Be nice to the baby.” Willa says, eyes cast over at Wynonna in a look of reprimand.

“She’s not even going to _be_ the baby for much longer! Soon there will be a little Waverly running around!” Wynonna says, throwing her hands out towards Waverly before she stops and looks off into the far distance, eyes glazing over slightly as she mumbles, “Oh no… we need to get rid of _everything_ flammable.”

“Hey, that was just the _one time_ and I was _four!_ ” Waverly says in defense of a story Nicole is absolutely going to ask for the minute she gets the time.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what you always say-” Wynonna is cut off by Waverly.

“Because it’s always the truth!” Waverly yells in her own defense.

Nicole turns back to face Waverly and slides her hands up and down Waverly’s arms, trying to calm her girlfriend- and hopefully, in a matter of hours, fiancée. The action at least gets Waverly’s attention back on her.

“Huh? Oh, there’s a crisis at Shorty’s- like there _always is_ the moment I leave the place in Devon’s hands for a few hours and I just needed to grab a change of clothes before I headed over there to assess the situation. The work of a bar owner is never done.” Waverly sighs out before perking back up with a small smile.

“I still say you should have-” Waverly cuts Nicole off before she can get very far.

“What? Let Wynonna, who can never stop _drinking directly from the tap_ ,” Waverly yells out the last part, leaning over to stare pointedly at her sister “-take over?”

Nicole opens her mouth to reply.

“Or how about Willa, who still hasn’t gotten through a conversation without directly offending at least _one_ person in the room, yet?” Waverly squints, casting her eyes up and bobs her head slightly as she replies, “No, if it was going to stay in the family, _I_ was going to be the one running it. And it was _going_ to stay in the family.” Waverly ends her statement with a tone that refuses argument, so Nicole doesn’t even bother trying.

“Okay, so don’t let me stop you, Baby. Go get ready. I can drop you off over there if you want?” Nicole asks.

Waverly smiles and goes to reply, but is drowned out by Wynonna from over Nicole’s shoulder.

“What, Nicole, don’t you want to stay to hear about my sexcapades with _the_ Doc Holliday _and_ Deputy Marshal Dolls?”

“Literally _no one_ in this room ever wants to hear about that!” Waverly shoots back in reply, and Nicole can’t argue with the response at all.

Before Nicole can do anything but follow lead, Waverly is tugging her arm and pulling her towards the bedroom.

“Let's leave them to whatever it is they do when I’m not around- it hasn’t lead to death, yet, so I think we’re good.” Waverly says as they continue walking towards the bedroom.

“You know, that might change one day.” Nicole adds, amused.

“No, they enjoy annoying the hell out of each other too much.” Waverly chirps in reply. “Hey, why are you here, anyway?”

Nicole’s stomach drops into her feet. She was hoping Waverly would be too caught up in her own head to realize the oddity of her being at the homestead without her.

“Wynonna called me up earlier and mumbled about something being stolen and said I should come over right away because I am, and I quote, ‘the only competent cop on the force’ and then she mumbled about it not being that hard given that there were like four of us, but I elected to ignore that part.”

“Wait, what was stolen?” Waverly stops dead in her tracks and turns towards Nicole.

“Actually, nothing. She was just still drunk and couldn’t find Willa. To be honest, I don’t think she even got out of bed before she called me.” Nicole says, hoping Waverly is buying the complete lie she’s selling.

“Yeah, that sounds like Wynonna.” Waverly says before moving forward again.

They make it into the bedroom and Waverly doesn’t waste any time going to the dresser and leaving a trail of clothes in her wake.

“What did you think was st- hey, I thought you just needed a change of clothes, not that you needed to change?” Nicole says, confused.

“Better to be safe than sorry- Devon was pretty vague on the phone. He was actually getting kind of... ” Waverly gestures with her hands, the bundled up t-shirt she’s still holding moving with her words, “ panicky? So I’m pretty much going in blind and I do _not_ want a repeat of that time when the pipes burst.” Waverly explains, wrinkling her nose at the last statement.

“Shorty’s definitely had a wet t-shirt contest that day.” Nicole mumbles to herself from the bed where she’s sat down.

“Oh shut up!” Waverly says, chucking her discarded t-shirt at Nicole. “You weren’t even there!”

“Yeah and that was a _damn shame._ ” Nicole sighs in reply as she grabs the t-shirt off of her head and throws it on the bed.

“You’re crazy.” Waverly says with a laugh as she pulls one of her Shorty’s t-shirts over her head.

“Crazy about you, Baby.” Nicole replies, sobering up.

“I hope you could hear how loudly I just rolled my eyes, since you’re definitely not looking at my face right now.” Waverly says as she pulls her arms through her t-shirt and pulls the hem down, covering her stomach.

“Can you blame me?” Nicole asks, flicking her gaze up to Waverly’s face, grinning.

“What are you gonna do when I start showing?” Waverly asks instead of giving a proper reply.

Nicole doesn’t respond immediately. Instead, she gets up off of the bed and walks over to where Waverly is standing. She was pretty sure this would come up at some point, she just didn’t expect it to be quite this soon.

Sure, it sounded like a joke, but Nicole knows that there is some true concern hovering around the edges of Waverly’s words. There is no way Nicole is going to give Waverly any room for doubt; not about something like this.

Nicole slides her hand down Waverly’s arms, fingertips trailing lightly. She grabs Waverly’s hands and laces their fingers together loosely, swaying her hands just the tiniest bit away from Waverly’s hips and then moving back, colliding with Waverly’s hips softly.

“I am going to stare at you then, too and wonder just _how_ I got so lucky to know you love me back.” Nicole whispers before leaning down slightly and kissing Waverly.

“I never really stood a chance. You were on me the second you saw me.” Waverly replies as they pull apart, her voice soft but playful.

“I wish.” Nicole says, absently.

At Waverly’s expression, she quickly adds, “I _did_ tell you that same day that I don’t like to wait for things I want.”

“But you did wait for me.” Waverly corrects.

“You were worth waiting for.” Nicole replies with a smile and another kiss.

Said kiss is _rudely_ interrupted by Wynonna yelling into the room, “I hope you guys aren’t screwing in there! We have an open floor plan, you _already_ knocked her up, and I don’t want to have to bleach my brain!”

“Who knows, it might be an _improvement!”_ Waverly bites back in reply.

“You ready?” Nicole asks, hoping to leave the Earp homestead and the craziness of Waverly’s sisters behind for a little while.

It’s not that Nicole _dislikes_ … Wynonna, but there is only so much of the dynamics  between the sisters that she can take in any given instance.

Time with Waverly is good. Time with Waverly in neutral spaces or Nicole’s own space? That is much better.

Besides, Nicole is pretty sure that there is going to be very little of that sort of time to go around once Waverly gets further along in the pregnancy, and especially after she gives birth.

“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s go.” Waverly says, grabbing some clothes off of the top of the dresser.

Nicole turns and starts heading for the front door, only to have Waverly grab for her hand again and pull her back for another quick kiss before Nicole can get ten steps in.

“What was that for?” Nicole asks, but she is definitely _not_ complaining.

“For being you.” Waverly answers, smiling.

“The kisses should never stop, then.” Nicole jokes.

“Don’t tempt me,” Waverly says, her tone serious before pausing and then moving ahead of Nicole and tugging her along, “Come on, let’s get out of here. I need to go assess the damage.”

“Lead the way.” Nicole says, smiling.

“You just want to stare at my ass.” Waverly says without bothering to look back at Nicole.

“It’s a _great_ ass.” Nicole quips in reply.

Finally, they make it out of the house with only _one_ dirty look thrown Nicole’s way from Willa. Wynonna was too distracted by the freshly brewed coffee to pay them anymore attention than a few waves of her hand behind her and a, “Yeah, yeah, don’t do anything I would do.” Thrown their way.

If Nicole had known Wynonna’s weakness was coffee, she would have brewed the damn pot herself.

Waverly heads down the porch and over to the passenger side of the truck and climbs in, not bothering to wait for Nicole to get there first. Nicole isn’t far behind her, climbing into the driver’s side and closing the door.

“You came over here in the truck? I thought you said Wynonna called about something being stolen?” Waverly asks, buckling her seatbelt and looking over at Nicole while she does so.

“Yeah, but it’s not like she was coherent when she called, and I didn’t want to bring the cruiser out here if it was a false alarm, which I was pretty sure it was. And it was.” Nicole lies, trying to cover up her missteps.

“Says the woman who just yesterday was going on about how-” Waverly’s voice goes into a poor imitation of Nicole’s, “ -driving the squad car around town reduces crime, Waverly.”

“Yes, and I stand by that,” Nicole says as she starts the truck up and pulls out onto the road. “But in case it has escaped your notice, the homestead is like 30 minutes out of town, _and_ you have literally no neighbors within miles of this place, Waverly.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Waverly dismisses her and immediately reaches over to the radio dial.

Nicole can’t help but smile at the action; Waverly always does this. Nicole, for her part, generally forgets the radio is even there, usually not even bothering to fiddle with it when the stations go in and out depending on where she actually is in town. Waverly, however, always has to have it catch a station and makes sure it’s at what she refers to as a ‘human volume.’

Soon a song comes on and Waverly turns up the volume as she leans back against her seat, humming and singing along softly.  

_“Even if we can’t find Heaven, I’ll walk through Hell with you. Love you’re not alone, ‘cause I’m gonna stand by you.”_

Waverly closes her eyes and rests her head back against the headrest, still humming and singing intermittently. Nicole loves these moments between them; the sweet sanctuary of just existing in the same place for a space in time. Nothing can touch them, no worries, no fears...no literal demons ascending from hell for revenge against Waverly’s entire family, and seemingly the town of Purgatory as a whole.

Nicole is jostled out of her thoughts as Waverly’s hand latches on to her arm unexpectedly.

“Stop.” Waverly says weakly before she starts smacking Nicole’s arm a tiny bit, trying to get her point across. “Stop, stop, stop!”

Nicole pulls over immediately and before she can even ask what’s going on, Waverly is unbuckling her seatbelt, throwing open the door of the truck, and half-stumbling out of the truck and on to the side of the road.

“Baby? Are you okay?” Nicole says, leaning over the seats before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the truck, slamming the door as she goes.

When Nicole gets over to Waverly she’s bent over and heaving. Nicole slides her hand up Waverly’s back and grabs Waverly’s hair, muttering comforting words to her while Waverly continues to get sick.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to last long but the moment Waverly straightens up, she turns to Nicole, pointing her finger in Nicole’s face. Nicole’s hands go up in a show of surrender.

“ _You_ did this to me!” Waverly bites out.

Nicole hasn’t gotten a word out when Waverly stalks past her and climbs back into the truck, slamming the door closed.

“What was that?” Nicole sighs to herself, defeated and very confused as she lets her hands fall back at her sides.

It’s a few minutes into the drive before Waverly says anything.

“I’m sorry.” Waverly says, her voice soft.

“I know.” Nicole replies easily, not taking her eyes off of the road.

* * *

 

Received (8:09)  
Waverly: 911!!!!!!!!!

Received (8:09)  
Waverly: In DIRE need of food and puppy cuddles

Received (8:10)  
Waverly: Preferably at the same time

Sent (8:11)  
Nicole: Good thing I can provide both of those things then. Get that great ass of yours back here.

Nicole has spent most of the night getting things set up for the proposal, not that there is much to it. She’s made Waverly one of her favorite meals (one Nicole could feasibly prepare without immediately alerting suspicion) and has set one of Waverly’s favorite playlists on the iPod dock, hoping to set the right mood when Waverly steps through the door.

Orie is napping on the couch, curled up next to Nicole’s cat, Whiskey, when Waverly’s keys hit the lock. Nicole spots the exact moment Orie picks up on the situation. His ears perk up before his eyes even open, but once the locks click, his head is up as he shoots off of the couch, stumbling over Whiskey as he does so. Whiskey, for her part, swats at him and hisses before she runs off in the direction of Nicole’s bedroom, presumably to wait out Orie’s episode of being awake.

Nicole follows Orie to the door, though he’s already made it there, jumping and whimpering and trying to get at Waverly, who is trying to actually open the door without squishing the rambunctious little dog- or letting him out, for that matter.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going? Mommy’s trying to come _in_ , you silly boy.” Nicole scolds lightly as she picks Orie up and opens the door for Waverly.

“You weren’t lying, you _do_ deliver.” Waverly says as she looks from Nicole to Orie, ruffling his ears before full-out petting him and then leaning up and kissing Nicole in greeting.

“Mm, I also have food.” Nicole hums as she pulls away and lets Waverly move past her into the living room.

“You are an _angel_.” Waverly sighs.

Nicole places Orie on the floor and walks up behind Waverly, sliding her hair to one shoulder.

“Bad day?” Nicole asks, kissing Waverly’s neck.

“Awful.” Waverly replies.

“Well, I’ll do my best to make it better.” Nicole says, staying where she is for a few more seconds, just enjoying holding Waverly close.

“Oh god, the food smells delicious; what did you make?” Waverly asks.

Nicole finally pulls back and releases Waverly as she walks towards the kitchen. “Go sit down and I’ll show you.” Nicole calls back behind her shoulder.

Nicole grabs the plates she had already prepared and takes them out into the dining room, setting them down, one in front of Waverly and the other in front of her own currently empty seat.

“Oh, you are _definitely_ an angel.” Waverly says before she starts digging into the meal.

“You already said that, Baby.” Nicole says before turning back towards the kitchen. “What do you want to drink?”

“Oh, you know, just a scotch on the rocks.” Waverly says around her mouthful of steak.

“Ha ha ha, you’re so hilarious; you should really make a career out of that.” Nicole deadpans as she comes back into the room with two glasses of water.

Waverly practically inhales her meal, and while it takes Nicole a bit longer, that does not deter Waverly from telling Nicole all about the debacle at Shorty’s earlier. Thankfully there was no plumbing issue this time, instead Waverly had to deal with the belligerent day-drinkers who had taken it upon themselves to threaten Waverly’s staff for cutting them off. It was an issue Waverly solved with Oakley, her sawed-off shotgun. Waverly’s mistake was actually _telling_ Nicole that last part.

Debating about the ethics of a pregnant bar owner brandishing an illegal gun on her belligerent patrons aside, the night has gone well. Nicole stands up and begins clearing the table.

“Why don’t you go get changed? I’ll take care of these and you can pick out something on Netflix.” Nicole says, holding up the plates and cups the tiniest bit before she starts for the kitchen.

“I know exactly what I am going to pick.” Waverly says before she dashes off for the bedroom.

“I swear to God, I am not watching Gilmore Girls again!” Nicole yells from the kitchen as she puts the dishes into the sink to soak.

“Party pooper!” Waverly replies, clearly disappointed.

“Orie, come here.” Nicole whispers as she crouches down, calling Orie over to her.

Orie perks up the second he hears his name and comes trotting over, large puppy smile on his face.

“Okay, buddy; remember what you’ve got to do?” Nicole continues to whisper, fishing the ring box out of her pocket.

Orie immediately goes for the ring box, sniffing at it and then changes gears completely and licks at Nicole’s face. Nicole pushes him down slightly and he actually sits down, tail wagging as he waits for Nicole to do something. Nicole latches the ring box to Orie’s collar and pets the top of his head before giving him his instructions.

“Okay, go find Mommy!”

Orie jumps into action and heads for the bedroom, barking and skidding against the hardwood, trying to gain traction.

“Incoming!” Nicole calls out in warning to Waverly.

Nicole knows the second Orie crosses the threshold of the bedroom because Whiskey shoots out of the hallway like a bat out of hell, heading straight for the nearest windowsill. She also knows the moment Waverly sees Orie because she hears him bark and her excitedly greeting him.

“Hey Orie. Oh, I missed you soooo much. C’mere” Waverly coos.

Nicole also knows the moment Waverly finds the ring box and presumably opens it because there is an audible gasp and then-

“Nicole!”

Nicole walks into the hallways and smiles as she slowly makes her way towards Waverly, who is actually a couple of steps outside of the bedroom. Clearly, Nicole caught her in the midst of changing because Waverly is in nothing but one of Nicole’s t-shirts and what Nicole can only assume, hopefully, nothing else.

“Explain yourself!” Waverly demands, holding out the ring box she detached from Orie’s collar.

Nicole is grinning now as she stops in front of Waverly, taking the ring box from her hands and getting down on one knee, opening the box.

“Waverly Earp, I love you so much. Will you marry me?” Nicole asks, heart pounding against her chest.

Waverly just stares at her for a few seconds, tears in her eyes, and Nicole’s starting to worry that maybe Wynonna was right.

“No.” Waverly says, her voice cracking over that small word.

“What do you mean, _no_ _?”_ Nicole asks, still on one knee.

“You’re only asking because I’m pregnant and I don’t want that to be the reason we get married.” Waverly explains.

“But that’s not the case!” Nicole starts in on her defense, “Waverly Earp, you are the most bullheaded, infuriating, insane-”

“You’re not really making your case, here!” Waverly snaps.

“Let me finish- You are the most amazing, brilliant, complicated, and unique person I have ever met. My life has not been the same since I stumbled into that bar and set my sights on you, and I could never picture my life without you. I would never want to. Being with you has made me the happiest I have ever been in my life and I’d like, if you’re willing, to keep this thing we have going for the rest of our lives. So, Waverly Earp, for the second time; Will. You. Marry me?”

A few seconds pass as Waverly just stands there and Nicole isn’t sure how to take any of this, but thankfully, Waverly doesn’t drag it out too much longer, dropping her verdict quick enough.

“Well, when you put it _that_ way…” Waverly trails off smiling and holding out her left hand to Nicole. “Yes!”

Nicole slides the ring onto Waverly’s finger and before she can do much else, Waverly is pulling her up to her feet by the collar of her shirt, kissing her firmly on the lips.

Waverly keeps kissing her over and over again and Nicole can’t say she minds this development at all, but soon the mood shifts as the kisses become deeper and more frantic as Waverly’s hands go to the sides of Nicole’s shirt, tugging upward, trying to untuck it haphazardly. Nicole pulls Waverly closer by her hips and they stumble back into the wall, only to have a puppy whimper accompany the action as they stumble over Orie, who runs off.

“Oh no, is he okay?” Waverly asks as Nicole moves from kissing her mouth to kissing her cheek and then neck.

“He’s fine.” She says, dismissing that development.

One of Nicole’s hands slides down Waverly’s torso and underneath her shirt to find that, unfortunately, Waverly _is_ wearing panties. Undeterred, Nicole slides her hand underneath the waistband and slides her fingers over Waverly’s clit.

Waverly gasps into Nicole’s mouth and Nicole pushes off the wall, trying to get them into the bedroom, now. It shouldn’t be such a difficult task, given their very close proximity to their destination, and yet Nicole has a feeling it will take them longer than it ever should.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” Waverly chants into Nicole’s mouth before Nicole swallows the sentiment with a kiss.

Waverly’s back hits the door jamb and they stumble forward finally crossing the threshold of the bedroom. Nicole closes the bedroom door with her foot as she continues trying to kiss Waverly, but that last few don’t connect properly due to too much moving. Waverly takes that opportunity to continue trying to tug Nicole’s shirt up.

Nicole finally relents and removes her hand from between Waverly’s thighs and just takes her shirt  and bra off, dropping the clothes where she stands. As they move farther into the room and closer to the bed, Waverly continues to try and strip Nicole of what clothes she has left on- mainly just her jeans and panties.

Nicole helps out, unbuttoning and unzipping her pants, pulling them down and awkwardly hopping in place to free her foot from the leg of her pants.

“Come here.” Waverly whispers as she pulls Nicole forward and on to the bed.

Nicole climbs on the bed and Waverly wastes no time tugging Nicole’s panties down and grabbing her by the hips, licking a line up Nicole’s erection before sinking her mouth down, taking all of her.

Nicole can’t help but gasp as Waverly pulls back up, swirling her tongue over the head of her cock. Waverly then goes back down before pulling back up and then moving lower to Nicole’s balls, sucking them into her mouth as she rolls them around with her tongue.

“Oh fuck, that feels so good.” Nicole breathes out.

Waverly continues what she is doing before she moves back up Nicole’s cock, licking and kissing her way up before bobbing her mouth over just the head of Nicole’s cock, speeding up her pace considerably before slowing down and taking in all of Nicole.

Nicole’s hands go to Waverly’s hair and she tugs her back up before she leans down and kisses Waverly hard on the lips.

“It’s your turn. Lie back.” Nicole whispers, and Waverly obliges.

Nicole moves so that she’s positioned between Waverly’s thighs and then leans over her, kissing her hard on the lips, nipping and sucking before she leans back up. Waverly leans forward, trying to capture Nicole’s lips again and pouting when she opens her eyes and realizes how far away Nicole actually is, now. The pout doesn’t last long as Nicole grabs Waverly by the hips and pulls her closer, essentially scooting Waverly down the bed a bit and gaining a yelp of surprise from her in the process.

Waverly squirms and Nicole at first thinks it’s in anticipation before she looks up to realize Waverly is removing her shirt and flinging it across the opposite side of the bed, hitting the dresser as it lands.

“You ready?” Nicole asks, looking Waverly over.

“Almost,” Waverly says as she draws her knees up and takes off her panties before sliding her legs back down on either side of Nicole.

Nicole moves down the bed just a bit and then slides her hands underneath Waverly’s thighs, wrapping her hands around the topside, giving herself more leverage. Waverly gasps as Nicole moves in closer, not even having made contact, yet aside from breathing. Nicole can’t help but find a small bit of amusement in that fact.

“Relax, Baby.” Nicole says, voice soft.

Waverly nods before Nicole refocuses her attention on other, lower, parts of Waverly. She moves down, licking a line up towards and over Waverly’s clit, circling a few times before she moves back down with broad, slow strokes.

Nicole only pulls Waverly closer as she moves her tongue over Waverly’s clit again and begins sucking hard. Waverly’s back bows at the contact and this only urges Nicole forward as she continues the action, her nails digging into Waverly’s thighs as she starts licking at Waverly’s clit in fast circles, trying to get Waverly closer and closer to that edge.

“Keep going.” Waverly moans, trying to pull Nicole closer, her hands tangled in Nicole’s hair as she tugs hard.

Nicole obliges, keeping focus on Waverly’s clit before Waverly drops over that edge and her thighs clamp around Nicole’s head with her orgasm.

Waverly finally releases Nicole, thighs still shaking as Nicole climbs back up her body. Waverly pulls Nicole in for a kiss immediately, the action frantic and messy and Nicole knows Waverly can taste herself on Nicole’s tongue but Nicole also knows just how much Waverly _likes_ that.

It doesn’t take much maneuvering before Nicole is positioned correctly between Waverly’s thighs and then positions the head of her cock correctly before she moves her hips forward and enters Waverly.

“You feel so fucking good.” Nicole breathes out.

Soon Nicole find her pace and Waverly matches her for it before Waverly slides her hand down Nicole’s back.

“I want to try something.” Waverly whispers.

“What?” Nicole asks, still thrusting her hips, though slowing her pace.

Waverly drags her hand back up Nicole’s back, nails digging in deep as she does. Nicole moans at the contact, holding her hips still for a few seconds as she just enjoys the warm sting going up her back.

“Is that what you wanted to try?” Nicole asks before kissing Waverly.

“No.” Waverly says before bringing her index and middle fingers to her mouth and sucking on them for a few seconds before removing them, a thin trail of saliva following from her bottom lip.

“Oh!” Nicole says before she starts moving again, thrusting into Waverly as hard and deep as she can.

Waverly holds on to Nicole, her nails digging into both sides of Nicole’s back as she rakes both her hands down this time, digging in as hard as she can. Distantly, Nicole wonders if she’s breaking skin, but that’s a concern for later.

Waverly manages to slide her hand down Nicole’s back and lower to her ass before she slides her fingers into Nicole. As soon as Waverly enters her, Nicole’s thrusts become more frantic and desperate as Waverly finds a pace that works.

“Oh god, right there!” Waverly yells, her fingers stilling inside of Nicole before returning to a now broken pace.

Nicole keeps moving her hips, thrusting into Waverly. She knows Waverly is getting closer because she can feel it and it won’t be too much longer until she falls over that edge herself.  A few more thrusts and then Waverly is coming hard, screaming Nicole’s name. Nicole gives one last deep thrust before Waverly hits her prostate and she’s overcome by an intensity she hadn’t realized was possible before this moment, her orgasm taking her by surprise.

Nicole collapses on top of Waverly, panting hard as Waverly pulls her fingers out and Nicole is hit with aftershocks. It’s after a few minutes, when Nicole has rolled over onto her side, curled up next to Waverly, that Waverly kisses her forehead before she gets out of bed and jogs to the bathroom.

Nicole hears the sink running before there’s a pause and the toilet flushes and then the sink is running again. Finally, Waverly reappears but it’s Nicole’s turn to actually drag herself from bed and find relief.

Nicole comes back to find a half-asleep Waverly waiting for her.

“Mm, c’mere, Cutie.” Waverly hums as she opens her arms out to Nicole.

Nicole climbs into bed and into Waverly’s arms easily, snuggling close as she pulls the covers over them both.

“So that was definitely one way the celebrate.” Nicole says with a soft laugh.

“The best way.” Waverly responds, her voice sleep soaked.

“I guess now comes telling everyone, right?” Nicole says, knowing that Waverly won’t be conscious much longer and already feeling her own eyelids getting heavier.

“Mhmmm.” Waverly hums, not even bothering with the effort to speak.

“That should be fun.” Nicole says, kissing Waverly’s collarbone.

There is a silence that falls over them and Nicole feels herself being tugged under into sleep.  
  
“Shit! I haven’t even met your family!” Waverly yells as she bolts upright, jostling Nicole from the almost-sleep she was about to obtain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so everyone knows I love Willa Earp, the issue is that Nicole doesn't, yet.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly meets the Haught clan

Waverly has turned the dial of the radio about six times and counting and she knows it has nothing to do with the stations. Nicole thankfully hasn’t said anything about that particular recurring turn of events, yet. It’s just that everytime Waverly tries to lean back in her seat and listen to the songs playing, her mind starts buzzing with so many worries that Nicole has repeatedly said are unfounded throughout the course of the week; that has not stopped Waverly, though.

After the seventh turn of the dial, Nicole’s hand moves from the steering wheel and slides over Waverly’s thigh, thumb rubbing up and down. Waverly knows that Nicole knows what is going on in her head, and she also knows that words just aren’t going to do the trick- Nicole _has_ been trying.

Finally, Waverly sits back and places her hand over Nicole’s. She can’t help but squeeze Nicole’s hand hard and she thinks it’s probably become uncomfortable because Nicole finally speaks.

“It’s going to be okay.”

Waverly wants to believe Nicole, and she looks over and smiles at her in an attempt to do as much. However, even she knows that whatever her face is doing, it is _in no way_ a convincing smile.

Nicole picks up Waverly’s hand and kisses her knuckles before she flicks her eyes back to the road.

“They are going to love you, just like I do.”

“I hope not.” Waverly blurts out and at the look on Nicole’s face, she explains, “I just mean, not _exactly_ like the way you do-” Waverly cuts herself off and pulls her hand back, gesturing to her stomach. “-all things considered, after all.”

“Okaaay…” Nicole trails off before continuing after a pause, “Well, the only one you’d have to worry about that sort of thing with would be Jamie.”

Waverly’s stomach flips and she opens her mouth to say something, but Nicole cuts her off, which is just fine by her because she wasn’t even sure what she was going to say.

“Geez, Waves, it was just a joke!” Nicole says, looking from her and back to the road.

“Ha ha, very funny, just mock your pregnant fiancée.” Waverly deadpans, crossing her arms over her chest. “Your pregnant fiancée who has never met any of your family before today. And oh, beyond just telling them that I _exist,_ why don’t we throw a _baby_ into the mix?!” Waverly’s hands go up in the air with the end of her statement, only to fall back limply in her lap as seconds pass and Nicole says nothing.

“Was that too much?” Waverly asks finally, venturing to break their silence, voice soft.

“Little bit.” Nicole responds, holding up her hand, forefinger and thumb slightly parted.

“I’m just so-”

“Nervous, I know. But like I said, they’re going to love you. Everyone loves you, Baby.” Nicole says, smiling again but still looking at the road.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Waverly mumbles as she leans over and turns the radio dial again.

She leans back in a bit of a huff. It’s not that she’s actually mad; she knows that. Nicole has done nothing wrong- in fact, she has been doing everything right. Waverly just doesn’t know how Nicole’s family is going to take the news that not only is Nicole engaged, but that Waverly is in fact, pregnant.

Waverly looks out the window and watches as they pass the other cars on the highway. They’ve been driving for a while and still have a good while to go before they actually make it to Denver. That’s another concern of Waverly’s; she’s never really been out of Purgatory.

She took online classes for her degrees for Christ’s sake!

She’s always wanted to travel, but it’s never really fallen into her lap. And sure, it’s not like Denver is even out of state or anything, but it’s something new, and normally that would have Waverly excited- and she is, but that excitement is being drowned out by the worry that she will be judged harshly.

“What if they call it a shotgun wedding?” Waverly asks, knowing she sounds scared and only looking over at Nicole after she’s actually sure she has voiced her concern.

“If that happens- which it _won’t_ ,” Nicole says, glancing over at Waverly when she stresses the word won’t, “then I will defend your honor with my life.”

“I don’t think anyone’s going to try to kill you over thinking I trapped you in some marriage you didn’t want.” Waverly says with a roll of her eyes and a small smile.

“Then why would they, or anyone else for that matter, ever think you had trapped me in anything?” Nicole asks, voice soft and earnest.

Waverly takes a few seconds to consider Nicole’s words. She _does_ seem to have a point, but Waverly is still worried and she’ll probably stay worried the whole drive to Denver.

“Yeah, I guess you have a point.” Waverly replies, hardly convinced.

Waverly watches the cars go past and tries to just listen to the songs on the radio and it works for a little while.

“Okay, you know what? I’m just going to make the best out of this. This’ll be good, right?” Waverly asks, looking over at Nicole.

“Absolutely.” Nicole replies with a smile, not taking her eyes off the road.

Waverly occupies herself by fiddling with the radio when the stations they were listening to eventually go out completely the closer they get to Denver. When she's not playing with the radio, she ends up on her phone playing a puzzle or trivia game- anything that keeps her mind occupied. She's grateful that so far, she hasn’t gotten sick today. She hopes that her luck lasts at least until she's made introductions. But knowing how things usually go for her, it's just lying in wait for the most inopportune moment possible to strike.

“Here we are.” Nicole says.

Waverly looks up to see them passing by the ‘Welcome to Denver’ sign and her stomach flips.

This is really happening.

The flipping doesn’t stop, and suddenly Waverly knows she's run out of luck.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Waverly groans, her hand going to her stomach.

“Hey, it's okay, Baby. We still have a little while before we get to my parents’ house.” Nicole says in a reassuring tone that makes Waverly want to scream because she is clearly _not_ getting the point.

“No, I’m really gonna be sick. Pull over!” Waverly yells, smacking at Nicole’s shoulder.

“There isn’t really a place to pull over! Just try to hold out til we get into the city, okay?” Nicole says, her voice rising with anxiety biting at the edges.

“Just-” Waverly pauses, swallowing hard at the bile rising up her throat “-hurry!” She finally finishes, desperate.

They pull over and Waverly flings her seatbelt off and doesn’t get her foot off of the step bar before the contents of her stomach are hitting the ground below her.

Waverly is dry heaving when Nicole's hand slides up her back and starts making soothing circles.

Tears prick at Waverly’s eyes from all of the dry heaving and when she finally rights herself and turns towards Nicole, she’s full-on sobbing and doesn’t even know _why._   

Nicole doesn’t say anything, she just wraps her arms around Waverly and they stand like that for a while. Waverly openly sobbing into Nicole's shirt while Nicole just runs her hand up and down Waverly’s back.

It doesn’t matter that they are on the shoulder of the road. It doesn’t matter that Waverly has no real reason to be crying. It doesn’t matter that she hasn’t even offered up any sort of explanation. They stand there, Nicole holding Waverly close and comforting her and not even asking what’s wrong.

Waverly’s not sure how long they stand like that, but Nicole doesn’t pull away until Waverly does.

“Oh no, your shirt.” Waverly says through sniffles as she wipes at her nose.

“It doesn’t matter.” Nicole says with a warm smile.

Waverly still finds herself picking at Nicole's shirt- as if she can somehow fix the fact that she has left stains on it from crying by just picking at the fabric. It doesn’t work, as Waverly knew it wouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but try, regardless of its efficiency- or lack thereof.

Nicole leans down and kisses Waverly on the forehead and when Waverly closes her eyes and leans into the contact, she wants this moment to last forever.

It doesn’t, though. Of course. They pull apart and climb into the truck and continue their journey towards Nicole’s family- and what Waverly still can’t help but think will be her doom. But she’s faced literal demons and witches and so many things that have literally wanted her dead, before. This should be easy in comparison.

Waverly leans over and places her hand on Nicole’s arm, rubbing her thumb up and down. She has Nicole, so whatever else life wants to throw her way can come and get it because she isn’t going to back down; they’re a united front.

Nicole pulls off of the main road and into a residential area just as Waverly pops a mint into her mouth. Waverly wants to tell Nicole to stop again because she really doesn’t feel ready for this.

They pull into the driveway after going a few blocks. Nicole turns the engine off and they just sit there for a few seconds while Waverly takes a few deep breaths and steels herself for what’s to come.

Waverly opens her door of the truck after Nicole opens hers and gets out. In all honesty, Nicole’s parents’ house looks like something out of _Better Homes and Gardens_ \- picturesque and everything Waverly wanted for herself when she was a child.

“It’ll all be okay.” Nicole whispers, leading Waverly to the front door, her hand on the small of Waverly’s back.

Waverly wordlessly nods at Nicole’s words, not exactly trusting herself to speak, yet. Nicole rings the doorbell and Waverly briefly considers turning tail and running straight back to the truck- it would only take her a few hours to get back to Purgatory.

Just as Waverly’s calculating the ratio of pros to cons of that little idea of hers, the front door opens and there stands a couple that can only be Nicole's parents.

“Nicole!” Nicole's mother says, voice high pitched and bursting with happiness.

“It’s been a while, Kiddo!” Nicole’s father says as Nicole’s mother hugs her tightly.

Waverly just stands there feeling so entirely out of place. She can’t help but flash back to her own childhood, spending so much time at her friends’ houses in an attempt to pretend those families were her own. They weren’t always much better than her own family, but they always felt a bit more connected than the fragments at the Earp homestead, and then with Gus and and Curtis.

It wasn’t that her aunt and uncle didn’t try. Curtis did everything he could to give Waverly a warm, loving home- and he did manage as much. With Curtis and Gus around, Waverly finally felt cared for in the chaotic, messy way that only they could provide.

But it wasn’t the same.

Waverly didn’t have her parents or even her sisters and it took a long time for her to come to terms with that. Things are different, now, she knows. She has both of her sisters around, and while they are still very much broken (all of them), they’re trying and they care.

But this? Nicole’s family, in what Waverly assumes was Nicole’s childhood home? That is what Waverly has always wanted, and here it is, standing right in front of her. And more than anything, Waverly wants to bolt.

Her heart is hammering in her chest when everyone finally turns their attention towards her, and Nicole starts introductions.

“Mom, Dad, _this-_ ” Nicole looks over at Waverly, smiling broadly as she continues, “-is Waverly.”

Waverly can’t help but note the absolute pride in Nicole’s voice when she says her name. If she’s honest, Waverly’s still not used to that concept; someone taking pride in not only being with her, but just her as a person. In Purgatory, she was always the weird Earp girl- granted, she usually fought that with kindness and won out. It’s not as if she became the town sweetheart by chance.

Waverly would mold herself to suit other people, and only recently has she begun to find out who she is and who she actually wants to be. To know that Nicole not only accepts that, but takes _pride_ in who she is...that’s more than Waverly could ever put into words. She wouldn’t even know where to begin, and she has a plethora of words at her disposal, in a few different languages.

“Oh! She’s very pretty, Nicole-” Nicole’s mom looks from Nicole straight at Waverly when she continues “-you’re very pretty, Dear!”

“Much prettier than that last girl you brought home- what was her name?” Nicole’s father agrees and then looks to his wife for the answer to his question.

Waverly can feel herself starting to blush and would really like for it to stop.

“Oh my god, you guys, stop! Come on, let’s go inside.” Nicole says, trying to usher them into the house and kill the current topic of conversation.

“Alright, alright, we’re going.”  Nicole’s mother says and she heads inside.

Waverly follows after Nicole's father and takes in the inside of the house. It’s just as picturesque as the outside. Family photos line the walls of the hallway and around the living room they are now standing in.

“Wow, Mrs. Haught, you have a lovely home.” Waverly finds herself saying before she can think better of it.

“Oh, it’s Judy, please.” Nicole’s mother says with a warm smile and now Waverly knows exactly where Nicole gets it from.

“Judy, then.” Waverly corrects herself.

“And you can call me Greg, just never call me late for dinner!” Nicole’s dad says with a laugh as he walks up beside his wife.

“So, who's all here?” Nicole asks, ignoring her father's joke, looking around. “I thought I saw Hayley’s car parked outside.”

Waverly recognizes the name, but she had no clue that this was going to be an all-out family gathering. She just assumed it would be her, Nicole, and Nicole’s parents.

Apparently she was wrong.

“Oh! Hayley and the girls are out on the back patio.” Judy says, turning back towards said patio and the sliding glass door leading out towards it, a few feet away.

Waverly perks up at the mention of girls; more proof to throw in front of Nicole that they _will_ be having a girl themselves. Nicole takes Waverly’s hand and leads her out onto the back patio.

As soon as Waverly walks through the threshold, she immediately hits a wall of pure sound. One of Hayley’s daughters is screaming bloody murder as her sister is running away from her, holding a doll in her hands- which is probably the reason for the screaming.

Hayley, for her part, is sitting at the table sipping at a glass of wine and reading a magazine as if her children aren’t running wild with the older one tormenting the younger.

Waverly can’t help but think back to her own childhood and how Willa and Wynonna would gang up on her or even worse, ignore her completely.

Hayley doesn’t even look up from her magazine when she speaks, her voice flat.

“Oh look, it’s Aunt Nicole.”

That is when everything stops. The screaming stops, the crying turns into muffled sniffles (when just seconds ago it sounded like someone was murdering this small child), and then there is a golden period that lasts just seconds before anyone moves.

Then it’s as if someone just hit ‘play’ and then Nicole is being tackled by her nieces and Waverly is uncomfortable again. Though she isn’t given much time to bask in that feeling because Hayley has looked up from her magazine and is staring straight at her.

“And who might this be?” Hayley says, not taking her eyes off of Waverly.

“Oh, Hayley this is-” Nicole cuts herself off as she picks up her niece that had previously  been attempting to climb her, “-this is Waverly.”

Hayley doesn’t say anything, she just keeps staring at Waverly, and here comes the uncomfortable feeling again in full-force- and this time, there doesn’t seem to be much of an escape.

“Mhm. Well, the child currently attempting to scale Nicole is Scarlett- who needs to stop _right_ _now_ unless she wants me to intervene,” Hayley says, her eyes finally leaving Waverly in favor of her daughter.

Scarlett glares at her mother, only to growl and make a poor attempt at what Waverly assumes is supposed to be a lion’s roar in response to her mother’s scolding.

Hayley’s expression changes immediately, her eyes narrowing at her youngest daughter and suddenly all the fight in the little girl is gone- or at least, reigned in enough to not stop all of her fun. There’s a pause as the two just stare at one another for a few more seconds before Hayley redirects her attention entirely.

“And this-” Hayley says, pulling her older daughter to her side and stroking her hand through her hair “-is Emily.”

“Hi.” Emily mutters, waiting just a few seconds before she tries to extract herself from her mother’s side.

“Do you-” Scarlett starts speaking, loudly, leaning over Nicole, trying to get closer to Waverly. “-do you like _Barbies_?”

Waverly can’t help but light up at the question. One of her more vivid memories with her sisters is actually playing with Barbies and making up intense scenarios for them (mostly involving mortal peril, and Barbie saving Ken from imminent danger). Upon retrospection, she realized that said scenarios were wildly inappropriate for her age, but they were still fun at the time.

“I do!” Waverly responds with as much enthusiasm as Scarlett had when asking the question.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh, Mommy! She likes them!” Scarlett says, over-excited as she looks from Waverly to Hayley, and then to Nicole. “She likes them! We should go play!” Scarlett starts to squirm in Nicole’s arms and Waverly can see Nicole struggling to let her down before she just slips entirely from her grip, socked feet hitting the concrete floor firmly. “Gramma and Grampa lets us keep some here. Do you wanna go play? Come on!” Scarlett doesn’t wait for an answer before she’s grabbing for Waverly’s hand, trying to tug them both back into the house.

“Hey now, Scar; you didn’t even wait for her to answer.” Nicole says, trying to stop Scarlett’s forward momentum.

“But she was gonna say yes!” Scarlett argues and then looks at Waverly, her face falling, “You were gonna say yes, right?”

“I- yeah I was gonna say yes, Sweetie.” Waverly says immediately as she kneels down to Scarlett's level, attempting to reassure the little girl.

“Girls, why don’t you go inside and play; the adults need to talk.” Hayley cuts in.

Waverly stands back up and looks over at Nicole. She can’t help but feel like she’s gotten herself in trouble somehow by the tone of Hayley’s voice. Nicole looks back at her seemingly just as perplexed.

At least she’s not alone.

“Emily, go take your sister inside, please.” Hayley says, looking over at Emily.

“Uh-huh. Come on, Scar.” Emily says, her voice flat and distracted as she doesn’t even look up from the phone she’s been playing with this entire time since their meager introductions earlier.

Scarlett begins to whine but soon is pushed back into the house by her sister.

Hayley pulls out the chair next to her and motions for Waverly to sit down. Waverly moves forward and sits down next to Hayley with Nicole now seated in the chair on Waverly’s other side.

“Wine?” Hayley asks, holding the wine bottle up in offering to Waverly before placing the bottle back on the table.

“Uh, no; no thanks.” Waverly says after a brief hesitation.

“Yeah Hayley, isn’t it only like five-” Nicole is cut off by her sister.

“I don’t want to hear a word out of you!” Hayley says, arm outstretched as she points at Nicole, not taking her eyes off of Waverly.

Hayley’s tone changes immediately, going from shrill to almost serene as she places her hand back down on the table and straightens up in her seat,  “So, Waverly, how far along are you?”

Everything stops. Waverly doesn’t move or say anything. She just sits there and her mind starts in on overdrive. This should not be happening. There is no way Hayley could have known unless... unless Nicole _said_ something.

Waverly whips around on Nicole and glares at her, hoping she is getting her point across clear enough. The lost look on Nicole’s face seems the clarify that she didn’t say anything, and now Waverly’s not sure what _she_ should say. She’s not sure if she should deny it or if Nicole wants to deny it, or if she should just come clean considering this was some of the reason for the little get together in the first place.

“I um-” Waverly stumbles over her answer as she looks back at Hayley, who is just calmly sipping at her glass of wine, “-ten weeks?” Waverly lilts at the end of her statement, not exactly making it a question, but still questioning this turn of events in her head, regardless.

“Mm, mhm, okay, thank you,” Hayley says with a nod, putting her glass down and getting up from her seat.

Waverly watches as Hayley walks around to the other side of the table and puts her hand on the back of Nicole’s seat, leaning her hip against Nicole’s chair.

“Hi.” Hayley says, looking down at Nicole.

“Uh, hi?” Nicole says, looking up at her sister very confused.

Waverly watches as Hayley’s next actions play in what feels like slow motion. Hayley reaches back and then smacks Nicole upside the head. Nicole winces as she rubs her head and then turns back to Hayley, opening her mouth to respond but not being fast enough before Hayley jumps in.

“What were you thinking?!” Hayley seethes, her voice a harsh whisper.

“I don’t think you want the answer to that.” Nicole says with a shit-eating grin.

Hayley smacks her again.

“This is not the time, Nicole! Look at her!” Hayley says, pointing to Waverly and looking over at her briefly before returning her attention to Nicole. “She looks like she’s twelve!”

“Um, actually I’m 21.” Waverly offers.

That didn’t help anything.

“Oh my god, _Nicole_!” Hayley exclaims, thankfully still keeping her voice low.

“What?!” Nicole snaps in reply, her voice also a harsh whisper.

“What? You want to know what?! She can’t even _rent a car_ ! She’s- she’s a _child_ !” Hayley says, her hands going up in the air with her words before she smacks them down against her thighs. “She’s barely older than _Jamie_!” Hayley finishes, extending her arm towards Waverly for emphasis.

“I didn’t exactly plan this, okay?!”

There is a few seconds pause before anyone reacts and it’s Waverly that moves first, scraping her chair against the concrete as she stands up.

“Excuse me.” Waverly says, walking past Nicole without so much as a glance.

She walks inside and finds Judy and the girls playing on the living room floor, Barbies in hand. Scarlett looks up when she hears the sliding glass door open and then lights up spotting Waverly.

“Waverly! Do you wanna play now?” Scarlett asks, getting up and running towards Waverly.

“Oh, in a minute, Sweetie,” Waverly says, giving Scarlett a smile “Um, Judy, where is the bathroom?” Waverly asks, looking over at Judy.

“Oh, it’s just down the hall and to your left,” Judy says, pointing her in the right direction.

“It’s the only room with a toilet, can’t miss it!” Greg says from his seat in the recliner.

“Thanks,” Waverly says and  laughs at Greg’s joke, trying to be polite, and then heads down the hall in search of the bathroom.

She leans her back against the door to close it and once she clicks the lock in place she just lets herself feel everything. Hot tears prick at her eyes and she quickly tries to rub them away with the back of her hand as she looks herself over in the mirror. Her hand goes to her stomach in almost a defensive reflex of Nicole’s words.

“We may not have planned for you, little girl, but you’re still wanted. I promise.” Waverly whispers, her words bouncing off the tile in the bathroom.

“I promise.” Waverly repeats her words as her throat tightens.

She knows this wasn’t planned, and it certainly wasn’t how she saw things going for her and Nicole- at least not so soon, but then memories come flooding back. Willa calling her a mistake and no one stopping her, not even their father. Waverly will not accept that sort of possibility for their child, and she knows, logically, that Nicole is nothing like Ward and this whole thing between them will not look anything like her own childhood, but it’s still hitting her really hard at the moment.

Her hand goes to her engagement ring hanging round her neck on a small chain. Waverly’s absently playing with it when there’s a knock on the door and she tries to collect herself enough to sound okay.

“It’s, um, occupied. Just give me a few seconds.” Waverly says, hoping her voice isn’t betraying her.

“Waverly, it’s me.” Nicole says through the door.

“Oh.” That word falls out of Waverly’s mouth, and she’s not even sure if she wants to talk to Nicole right now, but there is a part of her very grateful that it only took Nicole seconds to come and check up on her.

“Hey, I know you’re mad, but can we please just talk about this?” Nicole asks.

Waverly doesn’t respond immediately. In fact, she’s still going over her options when Nicole speaks up again.

“Can you at least open the door?”

Waverly opens the door, frustrated with herself that she’s crying again because of all of the very strong emotions running through her, she’s not even sure she could properly identify them all at the moment.

“Baby…” Nicole whispers, voice soft and looking so apologetic Waverly wants to just let this all go- but Nicole hasn’t actually apologized, yet.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you and I don’t want you sitting there thinking I don’t want this because I swear I do- I want that little bean in there.” Nicole says, her hand going to Waverly’s stomach, “And believe me, I want you, Waverly Earp.” Nicole looks from Waverly’s stomach to meet her gaze.

“I don’t-” Waverly starts, but is cut off as her emotions choke her.

She can see the panic creeping up Nicole’s face and she wants to say something to stop it, but she can’t. It takes a few seconds for Waverly to find her voice but when she does, the words just don’t seem to stop, no matter that they’re not coming out in a logical order.

“Did you- I can’t- Nicole I just can’t be that, you know? She’s just _so_ …” Waverly trails off, making a noise, hoping that somehow she’s making sense as she gestures with her hands. “I mean, come on! How are we supposed to match _that?!_ We’re not even good dog parents!” Waverly whisper-yells, frantic.

“What?” Nicole asks, clearly confused.

“Hayley! She’s just such a _mom_ ! And I never even had one because as much as I love Gus, it just was _not_ the same and...what- what if I’m bad at this?” Waverly’s voice goes small at the end of her statement.

“Hey, we’re not going to be perfect at this- it’s kind of a learning experience and believe me, Hayley is not the role model of the year. I mean, she dropped Scarlett once- swears that Scarlett just bounced, but I mean, the kid growls at people now, so who knows?” Nicole says with a laugh.

Waverly’s laughing, too and doesn’t stop for a little bit at the mental images flashing through her mind.

“You’re awful. She’s like four years old.” Waverly says, sobering up enough to speak.

“Yeah, and instead of the weird horse girl, we got the weird lion girl.” Nicole counters. “I love her dearly, but if I have to marathon The Lion King one more time when I babysit, I might scream.” Nicole looks up, giving a thousand yard stare. “I sometimes wake up with the songs going through my head.”

“Willa was the weird horse girl- still is, actually.” Waverly mumbles.

“Hey, come on, I think Hayley wants to apologize for earlier and I know a certain little lion that really wants to play Barbies with you.”

“I guess it’s good practice, right?” Waverly says as she walks out of the bathroom, grabbing Nicole’s hand.

* * *

Waverly has listened to Nicole’s brother Kevin go on and on about the cases at his law firm for what feels like hours. He seems to really enjoy the sound of his own voice, and Waverly has briefly considered just standing up and announcing her pregnancy and their engagement just to get him to stop talking.

Waverly will never admit aloud just how similar he seems to be to Willa. Waverly has committed herself to thinking only good things about Willa, lately since Willa has been making leaps and bounds as far as normal human interaction goes.

But by God, if something doesn’t give soon, Waverly is almost certain she will just yell their news and not care about its reception.

Kevin doesn’t even stop talking as someone enters the room, voice entering before she does.

“Okay, I know I’m late but there was an accident out on Roman and I-”

Waverly looks behind her only to roll her eyes up farther than first anticipated as Jamie, Nicole’s _little_ sister comes into the room seemingly comprised solely of long red hair and legs that go for days.

“Oh hey, garlic bread!” Jamie says, walking up behind Nicole’s chair, resting her upper body on the top of Nicole’s head as she stretches between her and Waverly to grab for the garlic bread in question.

“Waverly, have you-” Nicole starts but pushes Jamie off of her as she continues- or tries to, at least, “ Have you met my little sister Jamie, who has clearly lost all recollection of what manners are?”

Nicole smacks Jamie’s hand away from the bread and Waverly looks up at Jamie, who is pouting.

“Aw man, not cool! I was gonna eat that!” Jamie whines before turning her attention to Waverly and grinning. “Oh hey, didn’t see _you_ there.”

“Jamie, no.” Nicole says, pushing her sister off of her completely, finally.

“Jamie, yes.” Jamie responds, still looking at Waverly as she extends her hand. “Hi there. Jameson Haught; pleasure to meet you.”

“ _Jamie_.” Nicole says Jamie’s name as if it's a warning.

“Nicole.” Jamie breezes back, flippant.

“Would you stop?” Nicole bites back.

“I think she likes me though, Sis.” Jamie counters, not taking her eyes off of Waverly.

“Jamie, would you please stop hitting on my _fiancée_ _?!_ ” Nicole yells, annoyed.

The next sound out of anyone’s mouth is Judy gasping.

Waverly looks around the table and then gives them all as much of a smile as she can muster, “Uh, surprise?” Waverly offers, taking the ring off of her necklace and then slipping it on her left hand.

“Well, shit- good job!” Jamie says clasping her hand on Nicole’s shoulder as she flops into her seat at the table, grabbing her plate and piling it up with food.

No one else moves. Waverly’s not even entirely sure anyone else is _breathing_. Finally, after what feels like forever, Judy speaks.

“Well this is good! You two can do the whole long distance thing for a while, right? I mean technology today has just gotten so advanced. Kevin here-” Judy gestures to her son, “-even helped me put the Skype-”

“Mom, I have told you a thousand times, it’s just called Skype.” Jamie says with a mouth full of garlic bread and a roll of her eyes.

“- _The Skype,”_ Judy continues, “On my phone so your father and I can talk to Grayson all the way over in England! I’m sure you two can do that when Nicole moves back here!” Judy says with a smile.

“When Nicole _what_?” Waverly asks, looking at Nicole.

“Oh yeah, Nic, I talked to Chief Anderson over at Precinct 38 and they’ve got a position opening up.” Greg says, looking over pointedly at Nicole.

“Uh... yeah, about that-” Nicole starts, but is cut off.

“Rodger is fine with it, really. You’re practically in, Kiddo.” Greg says after a bite of garlic bread.

“Um, Dad, I really need to talk to you about that.” Nicole says, though Waverly can see her starting to drown.

“What’s there to talk about? We already set everything up. Nicole, we talked about all of this before, and really, what’s keeping you in that Podunk town?” Greg then shifts his attention to Waverly, gesturing as he speaks. “No offense meant, Waverly.”

“I’m not going to be moving back here.” Nicole says, voice set, though her eyes are closed as she says it.

There is a high pitched whistling coming from Jamie’s side of the table and briefly, Waverly considers stabbing her with her fork if she could just reach. Everyone’s attention shifts to Jamie nd she grins, holding up her forkful of lasagna ducking her head slightly as if in apology.

“Uh, shit just got real, sorry.” Jamie offers in explanation.

“Well why the hell not?!” Greg yells, looking from Jamie over to Nicole, “You can wait to get married, it’s not like you don’t have time, Nicole! We planned all of this out, _I-_ ” Greg slaps his hand to his chest for emphasis “-Have put my _ass_ on the line to get you this job- this job you were all for before- before _her!_ ” Greg points his fork at Waverly, and she just wants to get up from that table and steal Dixie, Nicole’s truck, hopefully burning rubber marks into the stupidly perfect driveway of theirs.

“I’m pregnant.” Waverly says into the already uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the table.

“This is like a fucking soap opera. I am so here for this!” Jamie says with a grin.

Hayley reaches over the table and smacks Jamie upside the head.

“Ow!” Jamie grumbles as she rubs the side of her head that hayley assaulted. “Always so violent! Please, for everyone’s safety, fuck your husband sometime!”

“Okay, that’s it.” Hayley says as she gets up from the table and walks over to the other side, dragging Jamie by the ear out to the back patio, gesturing to Scarlett and Emily to follow her.

“Nicole, can we speak to you _alone_ , please?” Greg says, voice far from calm.

Waverly goes out to the back patio to find Jamie slumped over one of the lounge chairs rubbing at her ear and glaring at Hayley while Hayley is nursing a fresh glass of wine. Kevin has pulled out his cell phone and hasn’t even bothered to look up from it when Waverly comes outside.

“Come to join the party?” Hayley asks, looking over at Waverly as she enters.

“I think she started it.” Jamie fires back, still glaring at Hayley. “Are you really knocked up, or was that just to add fuel to the fire? Because let me tell you, if it was, then I bow down to your greatness. You took the heat off of me when I go to tell them about my-” Jamie clears her throat, then continues, “-five unpaid parking tickets.”

“Oh, would you shut up? You’re clearly making her uncomfortable. Why do you always comes to these things-” Hayley cuts herself off, looking over at her kids before mouthing her next word. “-High?” Hayley then adds, “Oh, don’t look so shocked. I’ve known for a while, now.”

Waverly just stands there feeling very uncomfortable, she can still see inside the house and there is the muffled sound of Greg yelling and Nicole matching him for it. It’s a while before things quiet down and Judy comes out to the back patio, holding a few plates with pie.

“I was- um, there’s pie if you want it.” Judy offers, holding the pie up, only to then set it down on the table and pointedly scoot Hayley’s glass of wine away from her.

Waverly doesn’t touch the pie, and the pleasantries they exchange when she and Nicole finally manage to leave only end up leaving an awful taste in Waverly’s mouth. They don’t say anything for a while after Nicole pulls out of the driveway and heads for the highway.

“Well that could have gone better-” Nicole says, but Waverly cuts her off.

“What was that about them loving me?” Waverly snaps, arms folded over her chest as she looks out the window, not bothering to look over at Nicole.

“They-” Nicole sighs and then tries to continue, “This wasn’t about you-”  
  
“It sure as hell felt like it was about me! They were blaming me for you not moving back here! And where the hell did _that_ come from? Were you just not going to tell me that?!” Waverly knows her voice is getting louder, but she can’t seem to care. “Oh right, you weren’t planning _this_ , remember?!” Waverly yells finally looking over at Nicole, gesturing to all of herself.

“Hey, that’s not fair! I wasn’t even sure I wanted to move back here! This is all my dad’s stupid idea!” Nicole argues.

“You’re a grown woman! You can make your own decisions!” Waverly yells in response.

“It’s my dad, my whole family have these- these _expectations_ of me- You wouldn’t understand!” Nicole yells.

Waverly doesn’t respond. She just lets those words hang between them. It doesn’t take long for Nicole to try to rectify the situation, but Waverly isn’t bothering to listen. She’s tuned Nicole out, opting instead to take some sort of comfort in the waning radio signal.

It’s when Nicole pulls the truck over that Waverly is forced back into the argument.

“Waverly!” Nicole yells into the small silence in the cab of the truck.

“What?!” Waverly yells back in response, looking at Nicole.

Nicole pulls back slightly, some of the fight leaving her eyes but Waverly is not done yet- not even close to it. If Nicole wants to do this, then they are going to do this.

“You weren’t going to tell me if I hadn’t gotten pregnant. You were just going to leave- you were going to come back here to your perfect little family and their perfect little expectations and what? You were just going to forget about me?” Waverly says, yelling through the tears.

“No! I wasn’t- I couldn’t ever do that. I was planning on telling my dad that plans had changed before all of this and then- Baby, this wasn’t about you, I swear. My dad has just had this hold on me for so long because I’m the only one following in his footsteps or whatever-”

“But I wouldn’t understand that, right?” Waverly spits out, glaring at Nicole.

“I didn’t mean-” Nicole is cut off yet again.

“Yes, you did! It’s what you said, and hey, you know what? You’re right, I wouldn’t understand. My sister shot my drunk, abusive father in the back and my other sister was taken captive by fucking demons! I had to go live with my-” Waverly pauses as she starts crying more, but she doesn’t want to be sad right now. She wants to hold on to her anger because that is what is going to get her through this in one piece. “-my aunt and uncle and I didn’t see Wynonna for years, and we thought Willa was dead, and sure, my family is broken and fucked up, but at least I know they care about me. At least I know they’ll be there tonight when I go back to the homestead, which is more than I can say for you right now.”

“I wasn’t going to leave; I love you!” Nicole responds, voice desperate.

“Well I need to not be around you right now. Take me home, please.” Waverly says, her voice breaking as she tries to steady her breaths.  
  
They drive in near silence, the only sound coming from the radio that Waverly doesn’t even touch once. Not even when the stations blink out completely as they drive further away from Denver and towards Purgatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're not picturing Sharon Belle as Jamie Haught, you're not picturing Jamie Haught.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone talks about their Feelings and Nicole Haught is a switch.

Nicole has called Waverly three times in just the last ten minutes. The first two calls were obviously ignored, the last, however, rang the entire thirty seconds before Nicole was redirected to Waverly’s voicemail.

“I’m coming over.” Nicole says, ignoring all pleasantries, before hanging up.

Nicole pockets her cellphone and gathers up Orie’s leash. She sees his ears perk up at the sound of the metal hook clinking against the rope of the leash and he lifts his head as she walks towards him, his tail wagging excitedly.

“Hey, Buddy! You wanna go see Mommy?” Nicole asks, her voice going higher in pitch and becoming more enthusiastic.

Orie jumps off of the couch at the word ‘Mommy’ and heads straight for the door, barking at Nicole from where he stands. She walks over to the door and he turns back towards it, pawing at the door jamb. When Nicole gets close enough, Orie turns his attention to her, jumping up to get her attention.

Nicole flashes back to the other night with Waverly. How she said they weren’t even good dog parents, and Nicole straightens up as she looks down at Orie, who seems to notice the shift in her immediately.

“No, Orie, down!” Nicole snaps, her voice not loud, but holding authority.

Orie complies and stops jumping at Nicole. In fact, he sits down and patiently waits there as Nicole leans down. He does break and start licking Nicole’s face as soon as she’s close enough for him to reach, but she’s not going to scold him for something like that. She hooks the leash onto his collar and then opens the door.

Orie is out of the house as soon as there is a enough of a gap between the door and the door jamb to get his head through. He gets caught as the leash goes taut and he seems to realize that he only has so far he can move and ends up circling back, barking at Nicole.

“Okay, okay, I’m out! Give me just a second and we’ll go see Mommy.” Nicole says as she closes the front door behind her and locks it, taking a strange comfort in hearing the lock click behind her.

Nicole hasn’t even bothered changing out of her uniform. In all honesty, she wants to get out to the homestead as soon as possible. Orie seems to have the same idea, as he tries to move forward, tugging at the leash.

“No, Orie, heel!” Nicole says, unsure if her order will be heeded.

Orie is still getting the hang of the commands they have taught him so far and while he’s gotten the hang of ‘no’, ‘down’, ‘sit’, and ‘stay’ (usually, at least), he’s still a puppy and doesn’t always comply immediately.

This is not one of those times. Orie turns back to Nicole and sits down next to her heel, waiting for her to move forward, his tail wagging against the front porch.

“Okay, come on.” Nicole says, looking down at Orie, who is staring at her, tongue lagging and looking like the happiest puppy in the world.

“We’ve got this, right?” Nicole says as they move off of the porch and heads for the police cruiser.

Orie barks in reply, and Nicole wants to take that as his agreeing that they do, in fact, have this.

Nicole opens the driver side door to the police cruiser and Orie clamors up, circling around quickly and sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Sorry, Pup; you’re not driving this thing. Move over.” Nicole says, pointing to the other seat.

Orie looks over where Nicole points and then turns back to her, barking happily.

Nicole sighs and tries again. “No, come on, Orie. Move over.”

Orie seems to get the message this time as he looks over to where Nicole is pointing again and finally trots over to the other seat and sits down.

“Good boy.” Nicole says as she climbs into the police cruiser herself.

She buckles her seatbelt, pets the top of Orie's head, and then turns the key in the ignition.

The radio starts up as soon as the car roars to life and Nicole stares at it for a few seconds. It’s not very loud- never is in the cruiser- but Nicole can’t seem to take her eyes off of it. It’s actually on a pop station. Waverly's last pick when they were in the cruiser.

Of course, that was before the disaster of a family dinner.

Nicole shakes her head and pulls her eyes away from the radio to look behind her as she pulls out of her driveway.

She doesn’t touch the radio once.

Orie’s occupied himself with the window. More accurately, sticking his head out of it as they drive the thirty minutes out of town towards the Earp homestead.

“You good over there, bud?” Nicole asks, glancing over at Orie.

He doesn’t come back into the car, but he does bark out the window. Nicole wonders if it was supposed to be in reply to her or if he was trying to scare the few cows that are out in the pastures they’re passing. His tail is wagging, though so Nicole isn’t exactly concerned.

Nicole's eyes are on the miles of empty road stretched out before her but her mind is elsewhere.

She can’t stop replaying the fight she had with Waverly, and it's not helping that her father’s words still ring in her ears. Nicole hopes that Waverly didn’t actually hear what was said during that fight with her father.

* * *

 “What do you think you’re doing?!” Greg bellows, his face getting redder by the second.

Nicole hasn’t gotten up from her seat at the table, yet even though it’s just her and her father in the dining room, now. Her mother wandered off to the kitchen to busy herself with something in there in order to pretend like this wasn’t happening, like she always does.

“Marrying the woman I love.” Nicole answers, her voice even.

“No, Nicole, you’re throwing away all our hard work! You’re throwing your life away over some _girl!_ Do you even know her?!” Greg yells, getting up from his seat at the head of the table.

Nicole’s hands grip the table cloth, and she makes a point to not look up, to not look at her father. She doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“I know a hell of a lot more about her than you do.” Nicole snaps.

“And whose fault is that, Nicole? You leave for that small town and never keep in touch then you come home toting this- this _girl._ ” Greg spits out that one word as if it’s a curse, and Nicole wants to scream, but she knows it won’t get her anywhere and she doesn’t want to make things worse. Not yet.

“You were too busy thinking with your dick and now look where it’s gotten you! You’re having a child with a glorified waitress from some hick town! You’re _better_ than this, Nicole!” Greg yells, getting right in Nicole’s face, now. She can feel his hot breath on her cheek and she can’t hold back any longer.

“How would you know what I’m better than?! You don’t know me at all! You’ve never even _tried_ to know me! You have this fucking _idea_ of who I am and who you’ve always wanted me to be and we both know I never-” Nicole is cut off by her throat tightening, but she can’t do this; she can’t show weakness. Her father won’t let her live it down if she does. “- I was never that person, and it’s killed you, but you want to know something, Dad? This isn’t your fucking life; it’s mine! I get to choose who I spend my time with, I get to decide where I live and where I work and everything else because this. Is. My. Life!” Nicole says, standing up now to face her father, jaw set.

They just stand there right in front of one another, staring. Nicole’s wondering just how long it’s going to take her father to break because she is done backing down from him. She’s not twelve anymore and she won’t be bullied- not about this.

Greg looks at her, really stares straight into her, and then she thinks he sees something he doesn’t like because he turns away, hands thrown up in the air as he paces around the end of the table. Nicole’s grateful he’s stepped out of her personal space, but he looks like he’s thinking, and she’s sure she doesn’t want to hear whatever he’s going to say next but he says it anyway, of course.

“There-” Greg turns back towards her, one arm folded over his chest, his other arm up, hand holding his chin as he speaks, his voice low. “There are _options,_ you know. About this- this baby situation.”

“ _Don’t you dare!_ ” Nicole says, cutting off that thought process before he can say any more.

“I’m just saying, it doesn’t have-” Greg starts, but doesn’t get any farther.

“I want this baby. I want Waverly. I want this life I’ve made for myself, Dad! It’s _mine,_ ” Nicole slaps her hand to her chest, she can feel the tears rolling down her face, but she doesn’t care anymore. This isn’t weakness, this is fury. “ _Not yours!_ ”

“We had this all planned out! God damn it, Jack!” Greg yells.

His words hang in the space between them.

Nicole doesn’t say anything at first, she just stares at her father and it looks for a second like he truly realizes the gravity of his mistake before she is in his face, not giving him the opportunity to open his mouth again before she has said her piece.

“Don’t you _ever_ fucking call me that again.”

* * *

 Nicole comes back to reality and realizes she’s been speeding and immediately lifts her foot off the gas pedal.

“Shit!” She mutters to herself and realizes Orie is back in the car and looking at her.

“Sorry, Or. Mama started thinking too much.” She says, looking at over at him.

He has no reaction (he is a dog, after all), but he does curl up in the passenger seat after a few seconds, and Nicole takes some comfort in knowing he can sleep through this.

They’re almost at the Earp homestead and Nicole realizes she hasn’t actually thought about what she wants to say, aside from apologizing profusely and forcing Waverly to finally _talk_ to her, if it comes down to that.

Nicole pulls into the yard and parks the cruiser. She leaves Orie in the car for now, window cracked. There isn't much reason to wake him up, yet. This could end up going smoothly, after all.

Nicole walks up the front porch and takes a deep breath, exhaling probably a little too fast as she knocks on the door.

It takes a few seconds before Nicole hears anyone walking towards her, but then she hears the doorknob turning and her stomach flips. She didn’t think she would be so nervous- it’s just Waverly, after all, but she is.

Nicole needs this to go well- _they_ need this to go well. She hates that they haven’t spoken in the last two days. It’s ridiculous, if she’s honest.

Sure, the dinner was horrible and uncomfortable for everyone (Jamie and Hayley both texted her their reactions after the fact, in full detail), but it's not like any of it was really under Nicole’s control. Though she could have handled it better- she just kept shoving her foot into her mouth, and then Waverly stopped talking altogether.

That drive back to the homestead was one of the more uncomfortable drives they have ever taken together. The only one that seems to rival it for discomfort was the time in the cruiser when Waverly said she wanted to just be friends.

Nicole is jostled out of her thoughts as the front door opens.

Nicole’s face drops immediately upon recognition, clearly mirroring Willa’s own reaction.

“She doesn’t want to talk to you.” Willa states, eyes narrowed and defenses up.

Nicole opens her mouth to reply, but Willa’s shutting the door before Nicole can get a word in edgewise.

“Oh, _come on!_ Waverly, we need to talk!” Nicole yells, exasperated.

Nicole can’t be entirely sure if she heard properly, but it sounded like a reply from deeper inside the house was, “No, we don’t!”

“Waverly!” Nicole starts, her voice getting louder, only to soften when she continues, “Look, I know the other night was awful and I’m so sorry about that, but you can’t just shut me out like this.” Nicole slams her hand on the front door, “Literally!”

Nicole stands there and waits. It doesn’t seem like anything’s happening, and she’s only getting more frustrated.

“Waver-” She’s cut off as the door opens again.

Wynonna just stands there, squinting at the daylight and looking exceedingly more put-together now than the last time Nicole saw her- though decidedly more pissed, too.

“Look, Dude. I get it; I do. You guys need to talk, but-” Wynonna’s tone isn’t as angry as Nicole anticipated, she really just sounds tired, “And I’m saying this because I actually think you don’t _entirely_ suck.” Wynonna leans against the door jamb as she continues, “But do you _really_ want to go up against my heavily armed and very hormonal sister? Because, to be honest, I’m not so sure I like your odds.”

“You’re not going to let me inside, are you?” Nicole asks, knowing the answer she is going to get.

“Not a chance in Hell- unless she changes her mind.” Wynonna says before she pushes off of the door jamb. “Good luck, and remember to run in zigzags- that should confuse her enough to miss.”

Wynonna is actually drawing a zigzag formation in the air as she speaks.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Nicole says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Wynonna just shrugs before she closes the door.

“I didn’t want to resort to this, Waverly but you’ve left me no choice!” Nicole yells before she stalks back to the cruiser.

Orie is awake, now, leaning up against the car window and licking at it when he spots Nicole. At least someone here actually seems happy to see her.

“Hey Orie, come on, let’s go see Mommy!” Nicole says, voice high and excited- she can at least fake it for the dog’s sake.

Orie barks and then jumps in circles on the seat before Nicole opens the door. She has enough sense to block his exit before she can grab his leash, but he’s still trying to get past her.

“No, Orie, stay!” Nicole says and she can hear the anger creeping into her voice, even though she’s not angry with _him_ right now.

Orie listens, at least. He stops trying to move forward, but Nicole can tell it’s a struggle. She doesn’t make him wait long, grabbing him by the middle and then setting him down on the ground, leash in hand.

He tugs on the leash just twice before Nicole tells him to heel and he does. They walk over to the side of the house and then around the back to the window Nicole knows is in Waverly’s ‘bedroom.’

Nicole taps on the window three times before Waverly’s face appears, annoyed to all hell.

Waverly doesn’t open the window at first, and Nicole motions for her to do so.

Waverly doesn’t move. When Nicole finally asks her to, her only reply is to cock Oakley, her sawed off shotgun- though she doesn’t move to aim it anywhere but at the ceiling.

“You know having that thing’s illegal, right?” Nicole says, cocking an eyebrow, “I could arrest you right here; I have my handcuffs.”

Waverly goes red at the mention of handcuffs and somehow manages to look even more pissed than before. “Trespassing’s also illegal, so you can shove those handcuffs up your- Orie!”

In the midst of Waverly’s little tirade, Nicole bent down and scooped Orie up in her arms, only to pick him up and place him in Waverly’s view, Simba-style. There is a brief pause as Waverly registers that Orie is, in fact, there.

And then she remembers that Nicole is too.

“How dare you bring our _son_ into this?!” Waverly yells, face closer to the glass of the window, voice carrying farther with her indignation.

“He misses his Mommy.” Nicole says, holding him up just a bit higher, closer to Waverly.

Orie takes the opportunity to whimper and paw at the window before he starts licking it. He doesn’t help the situation for long before he’s squirming and whimpering trying to get free from Nicole’s grip and get back on the ground.

“Leave the dog on the porch and no one gets hurt!” Waverly yells

“Wait, what about a dog?!” Willa says from inside the house, and Nicole jumps the second Willa’s face appears in the window without warning.

“We’re trying to have a moment, Willa!” Nicole says, annoyed.

“No, _you’re_ trying to have a moment; it’s a one-sided moment.” Waverly corrects her.

“What’s the puppy’s name?” Willa asks, steamrolling over every other thing currently happening.

Nicole doesn’t answer, she just puts Orie on the ground and looks back at Waverly.

“Just _talk_ to me!”

Waverly motions towards the front of the house with Oakley before she speaks. “Front porch. _Now._ ”

It's more a demand than a suggestion, but Nicole complies because at least it’s _progress_. When she makes her way around to the front of the house, Waverly is already on the front porch, shotgun abandoned inside.

“You ready to talk?” Nicole asks, letting Orie walk in front of her and over to Waverly.

Waverly doesn’t reply to her, she just glares, arms folded across her chest before she sees Orie and her face lights up. She crouches down and begins to pet him.

“Depends on what you’ve got to say.” Waverly finally responds, still looking at Orie.

“I’m sorry for the other night. My family was out of line and-” Nicole begins, but Waverly cuts her off.

“Don’t apologize for them. You don’t control what they do, and I’m not mad at you because of _them_.” Waverly explains.

“Then why _are_ you mad?” Nicole asks, looking for clarification.

“You threw me to the lions without any sort of preparation. If you had just told me they were like that... it could have gone _differently._ ” Waverly says, looking up at Nicole, now. “Plus, according to Wynonna, I’m super hormonal right now. So there’s that.” Waverly adds as she stands up, Orie seated in front of her staring up at her.

“God, I’m so sorry.” Nicole says, feeling defeated, “I was hoping it wouldn’t get like that. I was hoping everyone could keep their baggage in check for _one night._ ”

“When does family ever react the way you want them to?” Waverly asks, smiling a little, now.

“Yeah, take it from her. I shot our dad and Willa back there is batshit.” Wynonna says, crooking a thumb back towards the house as she slings an arm over Waverly’s shoulders. “But only in the _best way._ ” She awkwardly adds when Willa walks up.

“I really am sorry. I just wanted things to go well.” Nicole says, stepping forward.

“Yeah, I know. Me too.” Waverly says, wistful.

“They really did like you, you know. Hayley and Jamie both raved about you and Hayley is pretty hard to impress.” Nicole says, trying to salvage things.

“She didn’t seem to like me much when we first met…” Waverly trails off.

Nicole steps forward and puts her hands on Waverly’s hips “That was more her worrying I was corrupting you than anything about you personally.”

“Well since it looks like the baby mama drama is over, how about you and I go inside, Willa?” Wynonna suggests looking over at her older sister.

“I wanted to pet the puppy.” Willa says with a pout.

“Then just take him.” Wynonna says offhand

“What?” Willa asks.

“Take. Him.” Wynonna says, miming the action.

“You know we can both hear you right?” Nicole says, looking over at Wynonna.

“Point being?” Wynonna says with a shit-eating grin.

Willa wordlessly picks Orie up, who is very grateful for the attention being paid to him now as he licks Willa’s face. She then walks over to Nicole and grabs the end of the leash from her hand and Nicole just lets it happen, dumbfounded.

“They just stole my dog.” Nicole blinks in disbelief looking back at Waverly as Willa and Wynonna walk back inside the house, Orie in hand.

Nicole moves to go into the house but Waverly’s hand on her wrist stops her.

“Hey, I’m sorry for just- running away.” Waverly says, tone soft and earnest.

“You didn’t go very far, Baby.” Nicole says with a smile, turning back towards her.

“I’m being serious. I don’t- I don’t want you thinking I’m not in this one hundred percent.”

“Well, running away like that for two days doesn’t exactly instill confidence, Waverly. I mean we’re _engaged_ , we’re going to have a _baby_ \- you can’t just run away at the first sign of trouble because there’s going to be a lot more for us to handle in just a few months.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Waverly replies, her voice soft, eyes downcast. “Everything’s just moving so fast. Half the time it feels like I can’t even catch my breath.”

“You know, we don’t have to get married if you don’t want to.” Nicole offers, painful though it is.

“What? No, I want to get married!” Waverly say, jerking her head up to meet Nicole’s gaze. “Nicole, I want to marry you.” She repeats, sincere.

“But the timing- I don’t want to overwhelm you, this can wait, _I_ can wait.” Nicole says, trying to make sure Waverly understands there is no deadline.

“I don't want to wait, I want to be your wife.” Waverly says, tugging at Nicole’s hips.

“But all of this stress-” Nicole doesn’t get any farther as Waverly cuts her off.

“I’m a big girl, I can handle it.” Waverly says with a smile.

Nicole nods and they stand there for a few seconds just looking at one another. Things are far from perfect, but Nicole knows she wants this, to be with Waverly; nothing has ever made her doubt it, and she’s not about to start now.

It takes some cajoling, but they eventually get Orie back and head back into town in the cruiser. This time Waverly is in the passenger seat with Orie in her lap. He seems much happier about this turn of events and Nicole is, too.

“Orie, Mommy missed you so much! I am never leaving you like that ever again!” Waverly says into Orie’s neck as she pets him, and he tries to extract himself enough so he can lick her face.

“Does that mean you’re finally moving in?” Nicole jokes, glancing over at Waverly as she drives back into town.

“I practically live there already.” Waverly says, holding Orie down so he doesn’t keep licking her and she can actually speak.

“Well, practically doesn’t mean actually.” Nicole corrects, realizing she actually wants to have this conversation.

“I guess not. Wait, are we really having this conversation _now_?” Waverly asks.

Nicole looks from the road over to Waverly. “Well why not now?”

“I don’t know, it just seems...weird?” Waverly trails off.

“Well, no time like the present. I mean, do you not want to move in?” Nicole asks, worried.

There is a considerable pause and Nicole is getting frustrated, now.

“You don’t, do you?” Nicole asks, knowing her words sound like an accusation.

“It’s just that the homestead is safer.” Waverly argues, though she doesn’t sound entirely convinced.

“You know I’m a cop, right? Trained to handle dangerous situations.” Nicole says, watching the empty road because she has to, but it's also easier than looking at Waverly right now.

“Not Revenants.” Waverly replies so softly that Nicole barely hears her.

“Look, I might not have a gun that can send them to Hell, but I’m not about to let anything bad happen to you.” Nicole says before adding, “Besides, like you said, you practically already live with me. What's the harm in just getting the few things you still have at the homestead and bringing them to my place full-time?”

Orie whimpers from where he’s seated on Waverly’s lap and instead of answering Nicole, Waverly turns her attention to the dog. Nicole focuses on the road ahead of her, though there’s not much at all to focus on. She can hear Waverly talking to Orie, but doesn’t really listen to what she’s saying until she realizes Waverly has been trying to get her attention.

“Hey, pull over.” Waverly says, trying to wrangle Orie in, seeing as he’s trying to get out of her lap.

“Are you going to be sick?” Nicole asks as she pulls the cruiser over, thankful that this stretch of road is nearly always abandoned- not many want to visit the Earp homestead.

“No, it’s-” Waverly cuts herself off, trying to gather Orie up and once the car stops, she fumbles a bit trying to get her seatbelt off. “It’s Orie. Pretty sure he needs to go potty.”

“Oh, okay.” Nicole says as Waverly grabs for the end of the leash near her feet. “Here, I got it.”

Nicole hands Waverly the end of the leash and then Waverly situates herself and Orie and gets out of the car. Nicole follows, walking around to the passenger side. Orie’s sniffing at the ground when she walks up.

“You didn’t need to get out of the car.” Waverly says as Nicole walks up.

“We were having a conversation.” Nicole reminds her, leaning up against the hood of the cruiser.

Waverly looks from Orie and then up at her, squinting against the sunlight. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other before Orie’s tugging at the leash. Waverly walks over to Nicole and shoves the leash in her hands wordlessly.

“Why are you giving me this?” Nicole asks, confused, pushing off of the cruiser and walking forward, giving Orie enough slack to keep hunting for the perfect pee spot.

“I need to think.” Waverly says as she begins pacing in a short line.

“About?” Nicole asks, letting Orie lead her because she doesn’t want to put forth the effort at the moment to correct him.

“What we’re going to do.” Waverly says in that tone of voice that Nicole knows means she is playing over every scenario in her head, and they’re not exactly coming out the way she wants them to.

“It’s simple. You’ll just move in with me- you’ve pretty much already done it. And besides, I have an extra room as it is.” Nicole says, not understanding why this conversation is even being had- there’s really only one option.

“But that’s not…” Waverly trails off, and Nicole isn’t sure if she’s talking to her or to herself.

“What did you think was going to happen? We’re going to get married; we’re going to have a kid! Did you think we were just going to trade the thing off every few days or something?!” Nicole’s annoyed, and that’s surprising even her.

“Well…” Waverly trails off, finally looking up from the ground to meet Nicole’s gaze.

“Wait, _seriously_?!”

“No! Not really. I just- I thought you’d move in with us at the homestead.” Waverly ventures.

“Us? Us?! _Us?! Are you kidding me?_ I’m marrying _you_ , not your sisters, Waverly!” Nicole’s voice is getting louder, but she doesn’t even remotely care at the moment.

Oh look, Orie found the perfect spot to pee.

“Thank god for that.” Waverly says with a laugh.

Nicole sighs and switches the leash from one hand to the other, just needing to _do_ something at the moment. “Look, we’ve got to get on the same page about this stuff- we’re kinda working on a deadline, here.”

“You think I don’t know that? It’s not like there’s a whole other person in _your_ body!” Waverly snaps.

Nicole loses all of her fight at that. She tugs Orie along, who is all the happier to go with her now that he’s done his business.

Nicole walks over to Waverly, who has sped up the pacing process and walks in front of her, only to have to grab for Waverly when she tries to make an about-face.

“Hey, I know this is a lot to handle.” Nicole says, voice soft, as she slides her hands up and down Waverly’s arms.

“I’m scared.” Waverly whispers, sounding lost.

“I know you are.” Nicole says, intending to say more, but Waverly gets there first.

“No, you don’t get it; I’m scared I’m going to screw up in a big way. What if I don’t love her enough? What if I turn into my mom? What if I’m not good enough?” Waverly’s voice gets higher in pitch as she continues listing fears, “I could be like my Dad! There’s all this _awful_ _potential_ just sitting there because it’s not like either of them got it right, and that’s all I ever knew and-” Waverly’s voice breaks, “-I don’t want to be like them.”

“Waverly, Baby, you’re not going to be like them; you’re already _nothing_ like them. Come here.” Nicole says, pulling Waverly in for a hug, her hands sliding up Waverly’s back as she just breaks down.

“But what if-” Waverly tries to say something, but gets cut off by her emotions.

“Sh, Baby, listen to me; you’re not going to be anything like your parents.” Nicole pulls back to look Waverly in the eyes, “We’re not going to get everything right. That’s just a given. But I know _you_ ; you’re so _good_ and full of so much _love_ and that little bean in there,” Nicole places her hand on Waverly’s stomach, “It’s not gonna know anything but absolute adoration and support from _both_ of us.” Nicole says, lifting Waverly’s chin, regaining eye contact.

Waverly looks up at her and Nicole starts to lean in when Waverly sniffles and then corrects her, voice still soft, “She’s a girl.”

“What?” Nicole asks, pulling back the slightest bit.

“She’s a girl, not an it.” Waverly says, voice firm, now.

“We don’t really know that for-” Nicole is cut off.

“Well she’s not an _it_ , either way!” Waverly argues.

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Nicole says, hands up in defense.

“Good.” Waverly says with a small nod as she looks up at Nicole, “Okay, you can kiss me now.”

Nicole doesn’t say anything, she just laughs and shakes her head before leaning down and kissing Waverly. They only break apart when Orie starts whining and jumping on them, attempting to get their attention and succeeding.

“Okay, okay, we’re done.” Nicole says, looking down at Orie.

“Far from it, actually” Waverly says, tugging on Nicole’s shirt.

“Oh, really?” Nicole says, turning her attention back to Waverly.

“Mm, yeah, we should get home. Like _right now_.” Waverly says, emphasizing her last two words with small tugs at Nicole’s shirt.

“That can be arranged.”

* * *

 Nicole stumbles into the hallway, back hitting the front door as it slams against the wall with the force of Waverly pushing her inside the house. Orie sprints past them into the house barking, his leash trailing behind him having slipped from Nicole’s grasp.

“I need you.” Waverly says, words broken up between kisses.

“You mean getting you off in the cruiser wasn’t enough?” Nicole says with a smirk, holding up her hand and wiggling her fingers.

“Not even close.” Waverly says, pushing Nicole farther into the hallway before she kicks the door closed with the heel of her boot.

Nicole gets a second to realize what is happening before Waverly’s pouncing, and she’s catching her, holding her against her hips, hands on Waverly’s ass. Nicole smiles into the next kiss and then pulls back just enough to speak- when Waverly lets her, that is.

“I don’t know if I should be insulted.”

“No, I just need-” Waverly cuts herself off with another kiss, free hand snaking down to cup Nicole through her uniform.

“Fuck.” Nicole breathes out as Waverly keeps rubbing her.

Nicole stumbles to the side, trying to get farther into the house and hopefully make it to the bedroom, but Waverly seems to have other ideas as she starts sucking on Nicole’s neck. Nicole can’t help the sound that rolls out of her throat at the contact and after a second of letting herself enjoy it, she remembers just exactly _why_ that is a bad idea.

“Marks, marks!” Nicole says, trying to pull herself away from Waverly but only managing to smack the back of her head against the wall. “Fuck!” She seethes.

“Are you okay?” Waverly says, pulling back.

“Yeah, you just can’t leave marks, remember?” Nicole explains.

“Look at how much I care.” Waverly purrs, moving back and sucking on Nicole’s neck again in the same spot.

“You’re going to get me in trouble at work.” Nicole sighs, closing her eyes and resolving to just let this happen.

“You’re going to be in trouble right now if you keep complaining.” Waverly says before biting down.

“Fuck!” Nicole says, fully enjoying what is currently happening.

“No, why don’t you fuck _me?_ ” Waverly says, asking a question that is in no way a question.

Waverly keeps rubbing Nicole through her uniform pants and it’s not like Nicole can actually do anything with her hands being as occupied as they are on Waverly’s ass.

“You have to wait.” Nicole says, setting Waverly, who is pouting, down.

“I don’t want to wait.” Waverly says, annoyed.

“Too bad. I kind of have to do something about this.” Nicole says, gesturing to her _plural_ belts.

“Fine.” Waverly says before kicking off her boots and making quick work of taking her jeans and panties off and chucking them into the living room.

Too quick.

Nicole only has her pants and underwear down, having forgotten to take her boots off in her hurry, when Waverly decides she is absolutely done waiting. Waverly’s mouth is on hers in a frantic kiss before she’s lifting herself up on Nicole’s hips, again and Nicole is supporting her out of want and instinct, both.

Nicole stumbles forward, trying to get herself to a solid surface, given the fact that her balance is _slightly_ impaired by her pants being hooked around her ankles. She catches herself on the wall in front of her, Waverly’s back connecting with the wall before Nicole can soften the blow.

Waverly gasps into their next kiss.

Their mouths connect in broken kisses as Nicole tries to situate them into a position that works, but Waverly has to intervene, guiding Nicole inside of her with one hand.

“Fuck me.” Waverly breathes out.

Nicole obliges, starting out slow, only to speed up her pace when Waverly tangles a hand in her hair and pulls, _hard_. Nicole is rewarded with Waverly gasping into a broken kiss and digging her nails into her shoulder.

“Yeah, just like that, keep going.” Waverly says, nails digging in further.

“You like that?” Nicole whispers, thrusting her hips faster.

“Fuck, yes, keep going.” Waverly moans, pulling her hand up a bit, nails raking up the back of Nicole’s neck.

Nicole keeps up her pace, fast and hard, as she feels Waverly get closer and closer. Waverly moves her hand from Nicole’s neck down between them and Nicole can feel as Waverly moves her fingers fast over her clit.

“How are you not sore from earlier?” Nicole asks, laughing in slight disbelief.

“Shut up.” Is Waverly’s immediate reply.

Waverly makes sure to shut Nicole up with a kiss, sucking on Nicole’s bottom lip, essentially trapping her for a few seconds before she lets her go, teeth dragging with the release. Nicole growls in reply, making sharp thrusts as Waverly pulls her closer. Nicole buries her face in Waverly’s neck, panting hard and then biting down as she feels Waverly’s body clench around her with her orgasm.

“Count.” Nicole bites out the one word as she pulls back the slightest bit, breath crashing against Waverly’s neck.

“What?” Waverly pants in reply, confused.

“Count,” Nicole repeats as she continues to thrust her hips, fucking Waverly through her orgasm. "When you come." She clarifies

Waverly loses count around ten.

“Will you come already?!” Waverly practically begs, panting.

Nicole laughs into Waverly’s mouth, the sound swallowed up by a kiss before Nicole finally lets herself fall over that edge, Waverly coming _again_ in the midst of Nicole’s orgasm.

Nicole’s not entirely sure how they’ve made it over to the couch, but they’ve been lying there for a while as their heartbeats regulate. Nicole’s fingertips trail over Waverly’s shoulder lazily as she tries to not fall asleep where they lie.

“We should elope.” Nicole finds herself saying, voice low and raspy.

“What?” Waverly says, using Nicole’s body as leverage as she pushes herself up a bit.

“We should elope” Nicole repeats, smiling. “Come on, we could skip all the stress of actually _planning_ a wedding and we wouldn’t even need to do it before the baby is born- we could take our time by doing it the quick way. The marriage is what really matters, right?”

Waverly just stares at her.

“What?” Nicole asks, confused.

“No.” Waverly states, voice firm.

“What?” Nicole finds herself repeating, having expected a discussion, at the very least.

“I want my princess wedding.” Waverly says as if that is a perfectly reasonable explanation, or makes _any_ sense.

“Your what?” Nicole asks, still very much confused.

“My princess wedding,” Waverly says, explaining, finally, “I know this sounds stupid and cliche, but I was one of those little girls that dreamed about her wedding. The dress, the-” Waverly cuts herself off as she looks at Nicole “- _person_ I was gonna marry...”

Nicole steps in. “It’s okay that you thought you were going to marry a boy- sometimes life gives you better options.” She knows she’s grinning, but she’s not about to stop anytime soon, either.

Waverly slaps weakly at Nicole’s arm, but she doesn’t even attempt to argue her point.

“We’re not eloping.” Waverly states, laying back down on Nicole.

“Well, then I guess we have details to sort out.” Nicole sighs, getting comfortable.  
  
“Starting with last names.” Waverly says, and Nicole can practically hear the smile in her voice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Earp and (some of) the Haught clan finally meet and it's...an experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter with a time skip, so that should be fun.

Waverly studies herself in the mirror for what feels like the millionth time. She's supposed to be deciding on an outfit, but she got distracted with her worries as she looked at her reflection.

In all honesty, they shouldn’t even still be home- Waverly smiles to herself as she realizes that Nicole’s place is now _home_ to her. They’re supposed to already be on the road to Denver, but Waverly can’t decide on what to wear.

Okay, it’s not really about the clothes.

Mostly, she’s still apprehensive about seeing Nicole’s family again.

Waverly’s been so in her head she didn’t even notice Nicole coming into the room and jumps when she feels hands slide around her waist and settle over her stomach.

“Relax, he won’t be there.” Nicole says, kissing Waverly just behind her ear.

“Are you sure?” Waverly asks, leaning back into Nicole.

“Absolutely. My mother has banished him from the house for the majority of the day.” Nicole replies, kissing the back of Waverly’s ear. “Though I doubt he would want to be around, anyway- considering the day’s plans.”

“So he's not big on weddings, then?” Waverly scoffs.

Nicole has told her about what her father said to her the night they went over there. Though she’s been cagey on the exact details, Waverly got the gist and hasn’t bothered inquiring further. Especially when, in retelling, something cold passed behind Nicole’s eyes. Waverly doesn’t need the details when Nicole’s reaction is still so very visceral.

“Something like that.” Nicole mumbles into Waverly’s neck.

“Mm, if you keep doing that, we might never leave.” Waverly hums, exposing more of her neck to Nicole despite her own protests and closing her eyes to just enjoy the moment while it lasts.

“I can live with that.” Nicole replies, kissing and nipping at Waverly’s neck.

Waverly lets things continue for a few seconds before she opens her eyes and steps out of Nicole’s embrace, begrudgingly.

“You might be able to, but I can’t.” Waverly says, turning to face Nicole, determined to just bite the bullet and get things over with.

“Plans can be changed, you know.” Nicole says, pulling Waverly closer by her hips.

“Not,” Waverly moves in to kiss Nicole.

“In,” Waverly pulls back just enough to speak before she kisses Nicole again.

“My,” Another kiss.

“World,” One final kiss, and Waverly means for it to be chaste like the previous ones, but Nicole seems to have a different idea as she deepens it, hands sliding around Waverly’s waist to lock behind her back.

“Not that this isn’t a ton of fun, but we really need to get going. We still have to pick up Willa and Wynonna.” Waverly says, breaking their kiss.

“Says the woman who has taken twenty minutes just to decide on an outfit.” Nicole sighs as she lets go of Waverly.

“Hey, I don’t say anything to you about your belt buckles!” Waverly snaps in defense.

“There is nothing wrong with my belt buckles!” Nicole replies, hands hovering over the one she is currently sporting.

“Not if you’re John Cena.” Waverly snorts.

“Pick out an outfit, already!” Nicole huffs, annoyed.

“I look fat in everything!” Waverly whines in reply.

She hasn’t started showing a lot but there is definitely a small bump, and while Waverly has grown attached to said bump, it’s also a source of insecurity. Not only that, but she knows eventually this small bump is going to become _much_ bigger, and while she knows that’s not a bad thing- in fact, it’s a very _good_ thing- it’s still a source of discontent.

Nicole blinks for a few seconds and Waverly turns to look back at herself in the mirror.

“You- you’re _pregnant,_ not fat.” Nicole corrects.

“Not pregnant _enough_ ; I just look bloated!” Waverly says, still looking at her reflection before Nicole is turning Waverly’s face back towards her.

“First,” Nicole starts, her voice soft and warm, “That makes absolutely no sense.”

Waverly opens her mouth to argue, but Nicole keeps talking, effectively silencing her.

“Second, you are not fat at all. You’re pregnant. There is a _difference_ .” Waverly thinks she’s finished, but then Nicole’s adding, “And even if you _were_ fat, that would not be the end of the world at all. I’d love you all the same.”

Waverly starts picking at the shoulder of Nicole’s shirt, needing something to do because looking at Nicole as she replies is completely out of the question. “You’re so good with those words of yours, sometimes.”

“You inspire me.” Nicole replies, and it takes everything in Waverly to not kiss her at that, but she refrains, somehow.

“Come on, we have to go.” Waverly finally says, trying to get them out of the house.

“You sure you want to wear _that_?” Nicole asks.

Waverly whips around to study herself in the mirror as panic bubbles up in her chest. “Why? What’s wrong with it?” Waverly asks, tugging at the skirt of her dress.

“Nothing, I was kidding.” Nicole says, resting her chin on Waverly’s shoulder.

“I am gonna kill you one of these days!” Waverly bites out, no real heat behind her words.

“Come on, we’ve got to go, right?” Nicole says, tugging on Waverly’s wrist.

* * *

The ride to the homestead was thankfully uneventful- except Nicole seems to be having a cow about the information Waverly told her on their way there. They walk up to the front door and Nicole’s still talking about it.

“I just don’t understand _why_.” Nicole says, sounding completely bewildered.

“I already told you, it was the smartest choice.” Waverly repeats herself as she opens the front door and they both walk into the house.

“Guys, we’re here!” Waverly yells into the house.

“Oh good, you’re here! I have some things I wanted to run by you.” Willa says, walking out from the kitchen, face lighting up as she sees Waverly and then going serious as she consults the notepad in her hand.

“Okay, um, I’ll be right back.” Waverly says to Nicole.

“I’ll be here.” Nicole says with a smile before turning towards the living room.

Waverly follows Willa into the kitchen and takes a seat at the table while her sister paces a bit before stopping in front of her.

“What’s up?” Waverly asks, slightly concerned by the pacing.

“Well, I just got off the phone with Reverend Miller- who is decrepit, by the way, and he um- he’s not exactly…” Willa trails off, not making eye contact with Waverly anymore.

“He’s not going to do it, is he?” Waverly asks, knowing the answer.

“No.” Willa says, looking apologetic.

Waverly shifts in her seat. It’s not as if she actually thought having the wedding here in Purgatory was much of a possibility, but there was no way she could completely buck tradition without at least _trying_ first.

“Well, we’ll just have to figure something else out. I mean, maybe Nicole’s family will have some suggestions.” Waverly says, hopeful that she’s right.

Willa nods and then holds up her notepad.

“I should be done soon, but I still have some calls to make.”

“Alright, well, I’ll be in the living room with Nicole.” Waverly says as she stands up. “Where’s Wynonna?” She asks, but Willa’s already on the phone and doesn’t reply before she’s speaking to whoever is on the other end of the line.

Waverly makes her way into the living room and sits down on the couch next to Nicole.

“I still don’t get it.” Nicole says as Waverly sits down.

“Well, it’s what’s happening and you should just get on board with it.” Waverly says with a sigh.

"Ah, yes. The most _obvious_ choice; ask Willa, your severely traumatized and socially inept sister, to be your _maid of honor_." Nicole says, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Just as Waverly opens her mouth to respond, Willa comes into the room, steamrolling their conversation to update Waverly on the plans she has already confirmed and getting approval for the things they have discussed. Willa just wanted to make sure nothing had changed overnight for Waverly.

After getting confirmation, Willa walks back into the kitchen to make some calls, and Waverly looks back at Nicole, whose eyes are trailing after Willa in disbelief. Finally, Nicole looks back at her, stunned into silence before she shakes herself out of it.

As Willa leaves the room, Wynonna stumbles down the stairs in a huff, half-dressed and the few clothes she deemed important enough to grab before making her entrance are halfway hanging off as it is. She runs a hand through her hair but doesn't get very far before she's wincing and yanking her hand back from the absolute mess of tangles. Wynonna mutters to herself as she hits the end of the stairs and stumbles into the kitchen behind Willa, Doc and Dolls casually trailing after her, looking decidedly more put together.

“Good morning, Officer Haught. Waverly.” Doc says, tipping his hat in their direction.

Dolls grunts at them, and Waverly assumes that must be the best form of greeting they will be getting before he’s had a cup of coffee, which he seems to be gunning for as he heads into the kitchen.

It’s noon.

"You were saying?" Waverly asks.

"Um, good-” Nicole clears her throat before continuing, "-Good choice."

“I know.” Waverly agrees, grinning and hoping she looks as smug as she feels.

* * *

 They finally make it to Denver, surprisingly without much whining from Wynonna once Waverly pulled down the to-go cup from the cupboard and solved Wynonna’s concerns about her coffee.

As they all get out of the truck, Waverly hears a low whistle from behind her. She turns to look at Wynonna, who just shrugs and mouths ‘What?’ Waverly rolls her eyes and grabs Nicole’s hand, still not believing that Greg will be nowhere to be found until she actually sees as much.

It doesn’t take long at all for Nicole’s mother Judy to answer the door after they ring the doorbell. Soon, she’s ushering them all inside before Waverly feels like anyone has actually made a proper introduction.

“Sweet digs, Mrs. H.” Wynonna says as she walks through the hallway, looking the place over.

Waverly can’t blame her. The house really is nice- though the few memories she already has inside of it aren’t exactly the best. Waverly’s eyes trail to Greg’s recliner once they’re in the living room, only to find it empty.

“Oh, thank you, dear.” Judy says with a smile that Waverly can almost believe isn’t entirely forced.

“Yes, you really do have a lovely home.” Willa adds, a bit awkwardly.

Judy nods and smiles at Willa and then turns her attention back to the whole group.

“Hayley and Jamie are in the dining room, if you’d like to head in there,” Judy says, motioning to the other room. “And if you change your minds about wanting something to eat or drink please just let me know, it’s no trouble at all.”

They all head into the dining room to find Jamie and Hayley seated at the table, looking up when they all come in.

“Girls, these are Waverly’s sisters,” Judy says as she pushes Willa and Wynonna just a step or two further into the room. Waverly almost doesn’t catch it when Judy mouths, ‘Be nice’ at her daughters, but manages to see what she knows Judy never intended her to see.

Waverly can’t help but laugh to herself a bit. It’s not as if the sentiment is entirely out of place, but she feels she should have prepared her sisters in the same way. They know to be on their best behavior, but Waverly’s not exactly sure what that really constitutes in her sisters’ minds.

Jamie stands up to greet them both, and Wynonna laughs as she trails her eyes up.

“Nice to meet you, Groot. Name’s Wynonna.” Wynonna says as she takes the hand Jamie extended.

Well, they’re sure off to a great start with that one.

Waverly considers the pros and cons of dragging Wynonna out of the room by her ear ala Hayley, but doesn’t get too long to entertain the thought before Jamie’s laughing as she shakes Wynonna’s hand.

“Oh, I like this one, Nic!” Jamie says, looking at Nicole.

“She’s straight.” Nicole deadpans.

“So’s spaghetti until you get it wet.” Jamie counters, looking from Nicole to Wynonna with a wink.

“Jameson Elizabeth!” Judy interjects, “I won’t have that kind of talk at the dinner table!”

“We’re not even eating, Mom!” Jamie argues, looking at her mother, finally letting go of Wynonna’s hand and stepping back as she is reprimanded by Judy.

“It doesn’t matter; that’s not the sort of conversation I’m willing to tolerate in my house!”

“Okay, okay! Jeez...” Jamie says before she turns to Wynonna, “But if you change your mind about that little hetero thing you’ve got going on, give me a call.”

“Enough of your disastrous love life.” Hayley says as she pulls Jamie back by her shoulder before extending her hand to Willa and then Wynonna. “Hayley: oldest, smartest and _clearly_ -” Hayley cuts her eyes at Jamie before she looks back at Wynonna and Willa, “Classiest.”

“Wynonna.” Wynonna says with a flourish of her hand, clearly not seeing the point in naming herself again, but doing it anyway.

“And who might _you_ be?” Jamie asks, sliding her eyes over to Willa.

“Also straight,” Nicole coughs in Jamie’s direction.

“Oh, come on!” Jamie groans, looking up at the ceiling before dropping her head back down and glaring at her sister.

“Not my fault that you have an incurable desire for straight girls.” Nicole says with a shrug as she goes to sit down.

Waverly follows her lead, taking a seat at the table, too.

“Willa.” Willa offers up to Jamie and Hayley with a smile as she goes to sit down at the table as well, taking the free seat beside Waverly.

Once everyone takes their seats at the table, Judy clears her throat and then speaks.

“So, Waverly, have you decided on a maid of honor?”

“Oh, um, yes.” Waverly says, shifting in her seat.

She hasn’t explicitly _told_ Wynonna that Willa is going to be her maid of honor, but she assumed it was obvious. Willa has already been planning things for her, and Wynonna hasn’t actually asked much about the wedding at all.

“Alright, good. So which one of your lovely sisters is it?” Judy asks with a smile.

Wynonna and Willa answer at the same time.

“Me.”

“Oh, that would be me.”

Shit.

Wynonna and Willa turn towards each other, Wynonna glaring before she turns her attention to Waverly.

“What is she going on about?” Wynonna asks, pointing at Willa.

Willa sits up straighter in her chair and doesn’t take her eyes off of Wynonna. Waverly looks from Willa to Wynonna and then steals a glance at Nicole, who is trying very badly to stifle a laugh. Waverly swats Nicole’s thigh under the table.

“Ow, hey, I told you so!” Nicole whispers harshly in her defense.

Nicole actually _did_ tell her something like this was going to happen. But Waverly had hoped that Wynonna wouldn’t make a big deal about it, seeing as she never really has been much for planning, and Willa has desperately wanted to be included in the wedding and Waverly really did _want_ to include her oldest sister.

“Well?” Wynonna urges.

“I asked Willa to be my maid of honor.” Waverly finally clarifies.

“What?!” Wynonna exclaims.

Waverly winces at the sound. Clearly, Wynonna had taken more stock in the position than Waverly had anticipated, and now Waverly feels guilty for not really discussing this with her sister sooner.

“It’s Waverly’s choice.” Willa pipes up from beside Waverly.

“Really not helping right now.” Waverly says, looking at Willa, who only briefly glances over at her before her attention is on Wynonna again.

“You couldn’t have told me?! There were _no signs-_ Oh, would you _quit_ trying to puff out your chest or something, Willa? This isn’t fucking Animal Planet.” Wynonna says with a roll of her eyes.

“What are you talking about, ‘no signs?’ She literally has like notebooks full of wedding plans! And it’s not like you’re really big on the whole planning thing!” Waverly argues, defending her decision because she knows it was the right one, despite Wynonna’s hurt feelings.

Wynonna’s shoulders drop as she blinks at Waverly before looking over at Willa and then back to Waverly.

“Wait, I would have had to plan things?” Wynonna asks, deflated.

“Uh, yeah? That’s kind of the whole point?” Waverly replies in disbelief.

“Oh,” Wynonna pauses as if considering something before shrugging as she continues, “Well then, yeah, she can have it...I still get to wear a pretty dress though, right?” Wynonna finishes, voice small.

“You’re still in the wedding party, doofus.” Waverly says, trying to reassure Wynonna.

Judy claps her hands together, gaining everyone’s attention on her.

“Okay, well, now that that’s all been sorted out, how about we get down to the details? What all have you two figured out so far?” Judy asks.

Waverly looks at Nicole, who looks at her a little lost before they both look over at Judy.

“Well, we were hoping to have the wedding in my hometown, but that doesn’t seem to be possible…” Waverly trails off, glancing at Nicole.

“So we’re sort of starting from scratch.” Nicole offers up.

“I see. Well, do you have a date in mind?” Judy asks, and Waverly can hear the edge of concern in her voice.

“We were thinking six weeks from today, actually. Nicole responds, taking Waverly’s hand.

“I know it’s quick, but we’re kind of working on a deadline and I don’t want to outgrow a wedding dress.” Waverly says, smiling and trying to not feel utterly uncomfortable.

“I see…” Judy says, trailing off.

Waverly doesn’t know how to take that response, but she doesn’t feel good about it, that’s for sure. Especially when Judy pushes her chair back and stands up.

“I’ll be right back.” Judy says, looking at Waverly and Nicole.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Nicole asks, voice suddenly tense.

“I’ll be right back, Nicole.” Judy says, waving her daughter off as she moves towards the living room.

“ _Mom_ , what are you doing?” Nicole repeats herself as she lets go of Waverly’s hand.

“I said I’ll be right back, Nicole. Just stay here, it won’t take me long.” Judy says, trying to pacify Nicole.

“Mother!” Nicole barks, “We do not need those binders. Do _not_ go get those binders!”

Waverly is completely lost and tries to get Nicole’s attention for clarification, but she’s up from the table, now and trying to pull her mother back- or at least convince her that they are not in need of whatever it is she is attempting to go get.

“Nicole Gabrielle Haught, do not take this from me! Besides you, I have one daughter who’s already married, and the other probably won’t get married in my lifetime!” Judy pauses before looking over at the table. “Sorry, Jamie, dear. No offense”

Waverly looks over at Jamie, only to find her and Wynonna’s seats empty. Well, that’s definitely going to come back to bite them in the ass later on. But for now, Waverly just wants some answers, and she knows she’s not going to get them from Nicole, who is still arguing with her mother as they walk out of the dining room.

“What is she talking about? What binders? I don’t get it.” Waverly says, looking over at Hayley.

“Oh I am _so_ _not_ going to spoil the fun of the binders for you. You have to see them with your own two eyes to believe them.” Hayley says, taking a sip of her wine.

They all sit in silence for a few seconds before Waverly decides to at least _try_ to strike up some sort of conversation. This silence is grating on her, especially since she has no idea what is going on with Nicole and Judy, or where Jamie and Wynonna ran off to.

“So, Scarlett and Emily aren’t here?” Waverly asks, looking over at Hayley before glancing at Willa and clarifying, “Those are Hayley’s daughters.”

“Mm, no, they’re with their father, Tim, for the day.” Hayley laughs to herself a bit before continuing, “You should have seen the look on his face when I told him he had to take them for the day. I swear, he nearly shit himself.”

“Oh, are you two…?” Waverly trails off, not sure if she should even continue the line of questioning since they are meeting up to plan her _wedding_.

“We’re still _happily married_...as much as we ever have been.” Hayley offers, lifting her hand up to showcase her wedding ring, though her tone seems a little off, and Waverly thinks it’s best not to question further.

Finally Judy reenters the room, binders in hand, Nicole trailing after her looking entirely displeased.

“Okay, so I think these might help you out,” Judy says as she places the binders on the table in front of Waverly, “Now some of these might be a bit outdated since this one here was supposed to be for Hayley, but she had different plans-”

“I will not apologize for my artistic vision, Mother!” Hayley yells from her seat at the table.

Judy’s mouth goes into a hard line for a few seconds before her attention is back on Waverly. “Just look through these so we can get an idea of what you might want.”

“You don’t have to.” Nicole adds as she sits back down in her seat next to Waverly.

“I mean it can’t hurt, right?” Waverly says with a shrug.

Waverly can’t deny that having at least a jumping-off point would be helpful right now because she feels like she’s drowning. Especially now that plans for Purgatory have officially been blown straight out of the water by one homophobic preacher.

“Mom,” Nicole says as she peruses a binder herself, “There is no way we can afford any of this.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Nicole. Your father and I are going to pick up the bill.” Judy says, brushing off Nicole’s concerns.

“What?” Nicole says, looking over at her mother across the table.

“It was his idea, actually. Didn’t he tell you?” Judy asks, looking at a binder of her own.

“Um, no.” Nicole says before dropping her eyes back down at the binder in front of her.

Waverly reaches for Nicole’s hand on the table and squeezes it. This is an olive branch, and Waverly knows it. It isn’t going to fix things entirely, but it’s a start, and that has to count for something.

“Oh, Waverly, would you like something to drink?” Judy asks.

“Please?” Waverly asks, realizing she’s parched.

“I can get you something, Baby.” Nicole says, standing up from the table. “Got anything in mind?”

“Orange juice, please.” Waverly says without thinking.

“I thought you didn’t like it.” Nicole says before she starts walking to the kitchen.

“ _I_ don’t but _she_ does.” Waverly says, pointing to her stomach, calling over her shoulder to Nicole.

“Oh! You found out the sex of the baby?” Judy asks, excited.

“No, she’s just _certain_  the baby’s going to be a girl.” Nicole says as she walks back into the room, glass of orange juice in hand.

“Well, I knew I was going to have girls every time, including you.” Judy says, looking at Nicole.

“It’s true, she kept going on and on about how you were going to be a girl and lo and behold we ended up with you.” Hayley says, smirking at Nicole.

Just then, Wynonna and Jamie saunter back into the dining room. Waverly wants to ask where they’ve been, but at the same time, she’s not even sure she actually wants the answer to that question. Hayley beats her to it, though.

“Where have you two been?” Hayley asks, tone hostile.

“Fucking in the backseat of my SUV. What’s it to you?” Jamie bites out her sarcastic reply as she flops down in her seat at the table.

“ _Jameson!_ ” Judy reprimands

“Mother!” Jamie yells in reply.

“Jamie!” Hayley pipes up in her mother’s defense.

“Donkey!” Wynonna yells with her best impression of Eddie Murphy, getting everyone’s attention turned towards her

It’s only a few seconds before Jamie’s laughing so hard she eventually stops making noise and she plants her head on the table, shoulders shaking from her silent laughter until she finally gets enough air in her lungs to breathe properly.

Wynonna has joined her in the laughter, holding her stomach, complaining about the pain through her laughs.

Waverly knew this was going to come back to bite them in the ass.

Hayley gets up after a few seconds and walks over to Jamie’s side of the table, smacking her upside the head. Jamie only flails as she blindly tries to fend off her older sister. Her shoulders are still shaking with laughter, though and Waverly just watches this all unfold.

“And you thought we were bad.” Willa whispers, leaning over to Waverly.

* * *

 “Are you really sure you don’t want to do anything else?” Nicole asks for what feels like the millionth time.

“Yes, I’m _sure_. If you need me to say it in other languages so that you understand that I am one hundred percent sure, I can do that, too.” Waverly says, rolling her eyes.

“I just feel bad that I’m going out tonight and you’re, well, not.” Nicole says, sitting down on the arm of the couch, next to where Waverly is seated on it.

“Don’t be. I’ll have Orie here, and I have a ton of snacks, and I can finally binge Gilmore Girls without you complaining every time I start up a new episode.” Waverly says, leaning against Nicole’s side.

“Hey, I do not always complain!” Nicole says in her defense.

“Baby, even your eye rolls are loud.” Waverly retorts, rubbing Nicole’s thigh.

“Okay, well, I’m pretty sure everybody’s on their way here to pick me up. I don’t think I’ll be out too long.” Nicole says, getting up from her seat.

“Kiss.” Waverly says, looking up at Nicole.

Nicole smiles before she bends down and gives Waverly the kiss she requested.

As Waverly pulls back, she speaks, “Just remember my rules and you should get to the church in one piece, tomorrow.”

“Got it. No strippers and no driving.” Nicole says, repeating their agreed upon ‘rules’ for the night.

“Okay, now go raise some hell for me." Waverly says, slapping Nicole’s ass.

Once Nicole leaves, Waverly settles in for the night: pajamas on, lights out, dog by her side, and Gilmore Girls pulled up on Netflix on the TV.

It’s definitely not the bachlorette party she imagined having, but then again, she never imagined being pregnant _before_ she got married.

Besides, it’s not bad at all. She likes having the house to herself for a little while. Her hand goes to her baby bump, still small, but there enough that even strangers have started noticing.

“We’re going to have a party all our own, aren’t we, little girl?” Waverly says, hand rubbing her stomach before she eats a few chips.

Orie jumps up on her side, licking at Waverly’s face.

“Okay, okay, we would never leave you out, Orie.” Waverly says as she pets the top of his head and he settles down, head resting atop her belly.

_“You get the living room, I’ll get the kitchen.”_

_“What about the upstairs?”_

_“I’ll body block the fool that tries to go upstairs!”_

Waverly watches the scene unfold on TV, but her mind is elsewhere. She’s thinking about tomorrow, and all of the work that got them to this point. Willa has been such a great help, and Wynonna even stepped up to help out considering that their time was so limited. Waverly wasn’t even sure if they would get everything done, but with help of her sisters and Judy, they managed.

Waverly still can’t believe that she’s actually getting _married_ tomorrow. She’s not sure she’s really going to be able to sleep at all. She’s not really tired as it is, and just the thought of trying to sleep doesn’t seem appealing in the least.

It’s after three more episodes of Gilmore Girls that Waverly finally breaks down and heads into the bedroom. She slides open the closet to find her dress zipped up in the white garment bag.

She unzips the bag and stares at her dress for a while, running her fingers lightly over the beading. She’s not going to even try to get into the thing without help, but just staring at her dress is good enough for now.

She’s getting married tomorrow.

Everything’s happening so fast, but it’s not bad. Waverly wouldn’t have it any other way, honestly. She wants the wedding she dreamed of to the one person who has constantly been there for her and supported and loved her through absolutely everything.

Nicole is the one. Waverly has absolutely no doubt in her mind, and suddenly she just really needs to hear her voice. But another agreement they made before tonight was no calls to each other unless it was an emergency. She doesn’t want to take away from Nicole’s good time, and so she won’t.

Waverly zips the garment bag back up and heads back out to the living room, swiping her cell phone off of the coffee table as she plops down on the couch again. It doesn’t take long to pull Hayley's number up on her phone, and soon it’s ringing.

“Waverly!” Hayley yells over the thrum of whatever club they ended up in.

“Hey, I know I said I wouldn’t call, but I just missed her.” Waverly says, hoping Hayley can hear her.

“Aw, you’re adorable! Unfortunately, your bride-to-be is a bit-” Hayley gets cut off, and Waverly can clearly hear the conversation going on around her.

“JAMESON!” Nicole yells, clearly pissed.

“Yes?” Jamie replies, sounding strangely calm.

“I said no strippers!”

“I am aware.”

“So then what is this?!” Nicole yells, and Waverly hopes this isn’t the direction the night is going to go until Nicole gets home.

“A _stripper_. You said no stripper _s._ ”

“Do you see the flaw in your logic, here?!” Nicole sounds closer to the phone, now and Waverly wonders just where Hayley is standing, or why she hasn’t said anything yet- though Waverly assumes she could just be watching the drama unfold.

“My logic is perfect, Nic. Stripper, singular. _One stripper._ I have done nothing wrong here.” Jamie says in her defense, still remaining calm.

Waverly can only assume Nicole’s gone red in the face already, and that Jamie is sporting a shit-eating grin. She wonders just where her sisters are during all of this, but then she hears a yell that can only be Wynonna- though it’s far off, and Waverly can’t be too sure.

“Waverly is going to kill me. And then you. And then me again.” Nicole replies, sounding desperate.

Well, she’s not exactly wrong.

Waverly doesn’t bother trying to get Hayley’s attention before she just hangs up the phone. Waverly’s not dumb enough to assume any of them will be ending the night anything less than shit-faced, and she’s not too keen to talk to an absolutely wasted Hayley- if Hayley getting wasted is even still _possible_.

Hours later, halfway through another episode of Gilmore Girls, Nicole stumbles into the house.

“Baby!” Nicole says, tripping over her own two feet and catching herself on the armrest of the couch.

“Hi there. You look like you had a good time.” Waverly says, amused as she sits up on the couch.

“Mhm, I did,” Nicole says with a grin before she leans over towards Waverly, smile dropping, “But I missed you too much.”

“Is that right?” Waverly says, voice going soft as she leans in towards Nicole.

Nicole nods, humming, her eyes already closed.

“Well, I’m right here.” Waverly says, hand cupping Nicole’s cheek.

“I’m going to kiss you now, future Mrs. Haught,” Nicole mumbles before she does exactly what she said and leans in and kisses Waverly.

Waverly pulls back from the kiss. “How much did you drink tonight, Baby?”

“Mm, I don’t really remember. Wynonna bought me a shit ton of shots, though! Her and Willa had a competition and I- I lost.” Nicole says, words slurring together as she pouts about her loss.

“They were setting you up to fail, Baby.” Waverly says, knowing it’s the truth. There is no way Nicole was ever going to win against Wynonna and Willa when it came to shots- or anything involving alcohol at all, for that matter.

Nicole stands up abruptly, “What?! Those bitches!” Nicole seethes before looking back at Waverly “Oh, I’m sorry, Baby. I know they’re your sisters... but they’re also bitches.”

“Sound logic there.” Waverly says, pointing at Nicole.

“Come on, let’s go to bed.” Nicole says, tugging on Waverly’s wrist.

“I heard you had some more fun than just shots tonight, Baby,” Waverly says, pulling her hand free, and Nicole at least looks scared. So that part of her brain hasn’t entirely been drowned in alcohol.

“What? Noooo!” Nicole scoffs.

“You had a stripper there, Nicole.” Waverly states, and Nicole just folds.

“It was Jamie’s fault!” Nicole says, trying to defend herself, “And okay, I got a lapdance. And I mean, I liked it because it was a _lapdance,_ and I’m sorry but it was _not_ my idea!”  Nicole rambles, and Waverly can’t help but find it cute despite herself.

“I know it wasn’t, Baby.” Waverly says, “But that doesn’t change the fact that we agreed no strippers. You could have stopped it if you wanted.”

Waverly knows her voice has an edge to it. She knows she’s stopped sounding amused by Nicole’s drunken antics because frankly, she’s stopped being amused.

It may not have been Nicole’s idea, but Nicole still stayed. Nicole still got a lapdance from said stripper. And honestly, Waverly’s not entirely sure she would have known about it _at all_ had she not called Hayley earlier.

Waverly’s starting to get pissed, even if she doesn’t want to be pissed. It’s the night before her wedding, and she’s legitimately pissed off.

Great.

“I- I know, Baby,” Nicole starts, sounding slurred but regretful, “I’m sorry! I know it shouldn’t have happened! I never meant for it to happen, and I should-” Nicole stops herself, and Waverly briefly worries that she’s going to be sick, but then she continues after a few seconds pause, “I should have stopped it. You’re absolutely right. Please don’t be mad. I am so so _sorry_ and I promise I am gonna kick Jamie’s ass for that but- but not before you do, because you totally get first dibs on that!”

“Damn straight, I do!” Waverly says, anger still bubbling up in her chest, though waning just the tiniest bit.

“You do! You absolutely do! And then when you’re done kicking her ass, you can kick mine. I’ll even bend over and make it really easy for you!” Nicole says, nodding her head, completely serious.

Waverly’s trying really hard not to smile because this is not the time to smile. She is mad. Smiling is not appropriate when one is mad.

“I don’t think the bending over will be necessary.” Waverly says, breaking eye contact with Nicole because if she looks at her for much longer, she knows she’s going to laugh.

“Okay, but just please, please don’t be mad at me. I’m so sorry, Baby. I’m so, so very sorry!” Nicole says, sounding desperate and a bit anxious, now.

“I’m still mad but I’m not- you and Jamie are safe for now. I have pictures I need you both in, tomorrow. You especially.” Waverly says, losing the battle and smiling, now.

She fully intends to have a serious discussion with Jamie about this little incident, and Nicole isn’t off the hook entirely, either. But for right now, for tonight, everyone is safe. Waverly doesn’t have the energy to fight anyone. And besides, like she said, she needs everyone alive and pretty for pictures, tomorrow.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Waverly says, standing up and tugging Nicole behind her to the bedroom.

“Mm, yes please.” Nicole says, walking up behind Waverly and wrapping her arms around her waist.

Nicole starts kissing the back of Waverly’s neck and her hands wander up from Waverly’s waist to cup her breasts.

“Your boobs have gotten bigger.” Nicole mumbles into Waverly’s neck, “I like it.”

“Well, I’m glad you appreciate it, but you’re not getting any tonight- sorry to disappoint.” Waverly says, pulling Nicole’s hands off of her chest.

Nicole seems unfazed by this turn of events and ends up lacing their fingers together as Waverly walks them towards the bedroom, slowly.

“That’s okay. I just wanna be near you.” Nicole. says, breath warm on Waverly’s neck.

“Alright, come on.” Waverly says, leading them into the bedroom finally.

Nicole disentangles herself from Waverly enough to flop herself face-first into the mattress and stays exactly how she lands until Waverly sits down on the bed beside her.

“Can’t sleep fully clothed, Baby. Come on, up.” Waverly says, slapping Nicole’s ass.

Nicole groans into the mattress and doesn’t move for a few seconds. Waverly is about to push her to get her attention again before Nicole finally rolls over on to her back.

“I don’t wanna get up. Our bed is like, super comfy right now! It’s the comfiest it has ever been. Don’t tear me away from this comfort!” Nicole sighs dramatically.

“You can’t sleep fully clothed.” Waverly argues.

“Yes, I absolutely can. People do it all the time.” Nicole replies, sure of herself and her argument.

“Not in my bed, they don’t. Come on, just sit up at least.” Waverly says, patting Nicole’s thigh.

“Fiiiine.” Nicole groans, sitting up, not having opened her eyes.

Waverly moves to get up off of the bed, only to have Nicole pull her back down.

“Where are you going? Don’t leave!” Nicole begs.

“We have to at least get you undressed. I’m not leaving, I just have to get up.” Waverly explains.

“Oh, okay. So long as you’re staying.” Nicole says with a little nod to herself, eyes closing again.

Waverly gets up off of the bed and kneels down in front of Nicole, unlacing her boots and removing them, not caring much beyond letting them hit the floor with a thud as they fall over haphazard.

Waverly’s not about to leave Nicole to her own devices to make sure there isn't a mess.

It’s when Waverly gets Nicole’s socks off that something whizzes over her head and hits the wall with a soft thud. Waverly looks over to the top of the dresser, only to find the shirt Nicole had been wearing lying atop it in a ball.

“You okay up there?” Waverly asks, looking back up at Nicole, who is now in just her bra.

“Mhmmm, just wanted to help.” Nicole hums.

“Okay, well, stand up. I’ve gotta get your pants off.” Waverly says, tugging at the belt loops of Nicole’s jeans.

Nicole complies wordlessly as Waverly stands up.

“Heh, if only I had a dollar for every time a pretty girl said that to me.” Nicole mumbles to herself with a laugh.

“Oh my god.” Waverly breathes out, unbuttoning and unzipping Nicole’s pants.

She lets Nicole’s jeans pool at her feet and then Nicole’s hands are on Waverly’s shoulders as she steps out of the offending garment.

“Do you need help with your bra?” Waverly asks, though she’s pretty sure she knows the answer to that, despite whatever is going to come out of Nicole’s mouth.

“No, I’ve got this!” Nicole says, waving Waverly off as she reaches behind her.

“You sure about that, Baby?” Waverly asks, bemused as Nicole struggles with her hands behind her back.

“Mm, yeah, I know what I’m doing!” Nicole defends herself earnestly.

Waverly lets her struggle for a few seconds before she reaches up and unclasps Nicole’s bra from the front.

“Sure you do, Baby.” Waverly hums, sliding the straps off of Nicole’s shoulders.

“I knew that!” Nicole argues weakly.

“I’m sure you knew it five shots ago.” Waverly agrees.

“Can we get back into bed, now?” Nicole asks with a slight pout.

“Yeah, we can. Come on.” Waverly says, moving behind Nicole to the bed.

Nicole grins like an idiot as she watches Waverly crawl into bed, still standing at the foot of the bed herself, not having moved, yet.

“Come on, what are you waiting for?” Waverly asks, patting Nicole’s side of the bed.

“Just wanted to enjoy the view.” Nicole replies before she crawls into bed, movements overcompensating for the actions.

She's at least on the mattress before she plops her body down unceremoniously with a huff. Waverly can’t help but laugh at the action.

“You’re hopeless.” Waverly hums.

Nicole shakes her head the slightest bit but doesn’t reply before she’s moving up the bed the tiniest bit, resting her head on Waverly’s belly.

“Missed my girls,” Nicole says, rubbing her hand over Waverly’s stomach.

“Finally seeing reason, are you?” Waverly asks, heart swelling because Nicole has _finally_ gotten on board just like everyone else has already done.

“Everyone else says it, and you do have that motherly intuition thing going on.” Nicole says, fumbling over her words as she pushes Waverly’s shirt up enough to expose her stomach, “Mama loves you, baby girl.” Nicole says, kissing Waverly’s stomach.

“She knows.” Waverly says, looking down at Nicole and running a hand through her hair.

“You think so?” Nicole asks, rolling her eyes up to Waverly’s face.

“I know so.” Waverly says, smiling down at Nicole.

“Good, good.” Nicole whispers, looking down at Waverly’s stomach again, “I love you so, so, soooo much. I haven’t even met you yet, but I do. I love you.” Nicole mumbles, lips brushing against Waverly’s belly.

“Silly sleepy puppy.” Waverly mutters, still running her fingers through Nicole’s hair.

“Orie’s not in here.” Nicole says, not looking up at Waverly.

“I know.” Waverly says with a small laugh.

“I love you, too, you know.” Nicole says, shifting now so she’s holding herself up on her elbows and looking at Waverly.

“I would hope so, you’re going to be marrying me tomorrow!” Waverly says, smiling.

“I mean it,” Nicole says, voice hushed but earnest, “I love you so, so much, Waverly Earp.”

“I know, I love you, too.” Waverly says before pulling Nicole up to kiss her. “Come on, get some sleep- We’ve got a wedding to be at, tomorrow.” she mutters against Nicole’s lips.

“Our wedding.” Nicole says with a huge grin, showing dimples.

“Our wedding.” Waverly agrees.

“Being married to you is going to be the best thing. The absolute _best thing_.” Nicole says as she settles back down on Waverly's belly.

“You think so?” Waverly asks, bemused.

“I know so!” Nicole replies, voice muffled by Waverly’s body.

“Well, good because I’ve gotta say, I agree with you.” Waverly says, fingers running through Nicole’s hair and down her back.

“Good,” Nicole says with a hum as she snuggles the tiniest be closer to Waverly. “If you keep doing that, I’m gonna fall asleep.” Nicole warns, already sounding exhausted.

“That’s the point, Baby.” Waverly says before she reaches over and turns out the bedroom light.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wayhaught wedding!!!!!!! Hijinks ensue because really, who thought they wouldn't???

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their first dance song can be found [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ3xTjvj9tw) if you want to listen along. The other song that plays later on can be found [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K0akU-Rdv8).

“You’re  _ really _ changing your name to Haught?” Willa asks as she zips up Waverly’s dress.

“We’ve been over this, Willa.  _ Yes _ .” Waverly replies, getting annoyed, now.

“But the Earp family legacy! You’re just going to throw that  _ away _ ?” Willa says, getting defensive.

“I’m not even an Earp!” Waverly hisses, keeping her voice low, as if there is anyone in the room besides her and her sisters.

“What does that matter?” Willa shoots back.

“For once, she has a point,” Wynonna pipes up, walking up behind Waverly.

“Thank you!” Willa says, looking over at Wynonna. “Wait, what?!” 

“You don’t have to be an Earp to keep the name. It’s not like there aren’t some perks to the gig,” Wynonna explains, ignoring Willa’s glare as she continues, “But I really can’t blame you for changing it.”

It still stings, the reminder of her linage (though they still haven’t dug up much information in that regard). But the idea of being able to start over fresh helps. Waverly’s about to start her own family with Nicole, and that’s enough for her.

Waverly stares at herself in the mirror, ignoring the conversation at hand. This is really happening. She smooths her hands down her dress and just looks at herself. She feels like a princess, and she actually hadn’t been sure that was  _ possible _ , but it absolutely is, because she’s feeling it right now.

“Okay, come on; time for the finishing touches.” Willa says as she leads Waverly over to the vanity.

“I still can’t believe you actually went with a  _ tiara.” _ Wynonna says as Willa places said tiara on Waverly’s head.

“It is a legitimate option! If it was good enough for Emily Gilmore, it’s certainly good enough for me!” Waverly snaps in her own defense.

Waverly can practically  _ hear _ Wynonna’s eye roll from behind her.

Wynonna opens her mouth to reply, but doesn’t get that far as a knock on the door sounds.

“Come in!” Willa calls to whoever is at the door.

“Hi, girls. I just wanted to see how-” Judy says as she enters the room, cutting herself off the moment she makes eye contact with Waverly.

Waverly tyrns from the mirror to face Judy, and then stands up, holding her arms out at her side for a few seconds. Gus comes into the room behind Judy as Waverly does a small twirl.

“What do you think?” Waverly asks before she actually turns to look at Judy and Gus.

There is no immediate reply, and that has Waverly worried until she actually looks at the other two women, only to see them crying. It takes just the second of realization to start up her own tears.

“ _ Guys _ ! You can’t just start _ crying, _ because now I am, and oh my god!” Waverly says, trying to fan her eyes- though she’s still not sure if that even helps anything. It at least gives her something to  _ do _ .

“You just look so beautiful, Waverly.” Gus says as she walks further into the room and takes Waverly’s hands. “I’ve spent so much time thinking of you as that little six-year-old girl Curtis and I took in, and now I’m just... this old woman is finally realizing that you’re a capable, beautiful, strong  _ woman _ . You’re not a child anymore, and I am so proud of who you have become and I like to think maybe I had a hand in that.”

Waverly’s crying harder now as she nods.

“You did; you really did. It’s not like you take anyone’s shit around here,” Waverly says with a laugh, wiping at her eyes. “Well, I guess that’s a- a really good reason to ruin my makeup.” Waverly says, trying to calm herself down.

“You really do look beautiful.” Judy says from just behind Gus, having closed the door when she walked further into the room.

“Thank you so much-” Waverly says, looking from Judy back to Gus “-Both of you.”

“Oh you guys  _ suck! _ ” Wynonna says from behind them, and Waverly turns to look back at her sister- who just so happens to also be crying. “Shut up!” She yells, pointing at Waverly before she’s even said anything. “I am  _ not _ crying, I’m just-  just  _ shut up!” _

The only dry eyes in the room are Willa’s, who is looking around very confused.

“Oh, come on, Wills. There’s gotta be a heart somewhere in there!” Wynonna says as she slings an arm around Willa’s shoulders, knocking her off balance slightly. “Our baby sister is getting married!”

“Yeah, that’s why we’re here,” Willa says, “I don’t see the point in crying about it, though.” 

“Oh, you are no fun at all.” Wynonna groans, swiping her hand in the air, dismissing Willa entirely.

“Fix up your makeup and then let’s head out.” Gus says with a sniffle.

“Is the photographer ready?” Waverly asks as she walks back over to the vanity to inspect the damage.

“Oh, that little wisp of a girl? Yeah, she seems rarin’ to go...Where did you find her, anyway?” Gus asks, handing Waverly a tissue.

Waverly takes the tissue as dabs at her face, trying to minimize any traces of her earlier bout of crying as she answers, “Hayley recommended this photography studio. We thought we were getting someone else, but they sent her- and don’t worry, before you start raising a fuss, we looked over her work and she's actually really good.”

Gus scoffs from beside Waverly. “I would have gone with someone more  _ experienced _ . She looks like she’s not even out of high school!” After a small pause Gus continues, “But it’s your wedding, so do what you want.”

“It  _ is _ my wedding, and what I want to do right now is go take some pictures of these damn happy memories we’re all making.” Waverly says, moving away from the vanity, satisfied that her makeup looks good enough for the most important day of her life- well, one of them. Her hand briefly goes to her bump.

“Come on, let’s get you out there. I don’t want to end up herding cats.” Gus says, ushering them all out of the room.

“I’m going to head over and see how Nicole and the girls are faring.” Judy says as she walks off.

“Waverly Earp, what kind of  _ Leave it to Beaver _ family are you marrying into?” Gus says in a harsh whisper the second she knows Judy is out of earshot. “I spent three minutes with that woman and I swear, she is the reincarnation of Donna Reed.”

Waverly tries, unsuccessfully, to suppress a snort. “Those are two different shows, Gus.”

“Did you understand what I meant?” Gus asks, voice still a loud whisper.

“Yes, but-” Waverly starts, but is cut off.

“Then that’s all that matters.” Gus says, patting Waverly’s arm, dismissing her.

“The fact that you knew that, though.” Wynonna pipes up from behind them.

“Oh, shut up.” Waverly snaps in reply.

Wynonna, Willa, and Gus all slow their pace once they reach the spot they agreed to take the pictures, hanging back behind Waverly. They chose spot a little ways out from the church- though Waverly has been assured that said church will be featured. It may not be the small little chapel in Purgatory she always  _ thought _ she’d be married in, but it still definitely has its charm. 

Waverly steps up into the gazebo that her sisters and Nicole’s sisters had decorated earlier with flowers. Waverly takes a deep breath in to try to steady herself. She’s nervous and excited and probably feeling a million other things, but she just can’t catch the emotions long enough to identify them.

Then she sees Nicole.

Their eyes meet and everything just stops. Nothing else matters to Waverly in that moment than the look of absolute joy on Nicole’s face, and Waverly is one hundred percent certain she is mirroring the expression. It’s when Nicole starts tearing up that Waverly feels her own eyes well up. Soon they’re a crying, smiling mess, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters is this moment that is theirs, completely theirs.

“Okay, so can I get the rest of the bridal parties in here, now?” Colby, the photographer, yells, breaking the spell Waverly seemed to have fallen under.

They’re joined in the gazebo by Wynonna, Willa, Hayley and her daughters Scarlett and Emily, and Jamie. Waverly can’t help but overhear Jamie from behind her.

“Hey, that photographer is cute, don’t you think, Hayley?” 

“I had to get our dear sister here out of her hangover coma and actually presentable and functioning today, so from the bottom of my heart, really, truly, and honestly, I want you to know that I don’t give a flying fuck about the newest girl you want to bang.” Hayley snaps, and then after a brief pause adds, “And knowing your luck, she’s straight as an arrow.”

“Wow, Hayley. I really think you’re going to win the title of Biggest Bitch Alive 2016!” Jamie bites back in reply.

Just then, Scarlett pipes up from in front of Hayley, looking up at her mother, “Mommy, what’s a bitch?” 

Beside Scarlett, Emily starts laughing, loudly, only making Scarlett more desperate for an answer to her question.

“Your Aunt Jamie, for one,” Hayley says, cutting her eyes at her youngest sister, “But it’s also a very bad word, so I don’t want you saying it anymore, okay?” Hayley says, looking down at her daughter.

“Okay.” Scarlett answers easily, the inquiry already seemingly forgotten.

Colby comes up and positions everyone, Jamie tugging her back towards her when Colby tries to move on to Scarlett and Hayley, muttering something about her phone number. 

Eventually, everyone is in their proper place and Colby takes their pictures, staged shots of the entire party and then select single shots- unfortunately landing herself the center of Jamie’s attention again, and Waverly can’t help but feel bad for the poor girl, who seems to look like she would rather be anywhere else on the planet right now.

“You’re still going to get candid shots during the ceremony and reception, right?” Waverly asks, walking up to Colby after all of the previously agreed upon pictures before the ceremony have been shot.

“Yep, got my camera right here.” Colby says, holding up her camera slightly and smiling.

“Okay, good.” Waverly says with a nod before Wynonna tugs her off towards the church.

Waverly catches Jamie walking up to Colby before she turns around and follows her sister into the church, giggling like kids as they rush into the back, preparing for the march up to the alter.

Waverly still can’t quite believe this is happening to her. She really is getting married today to the absolute love of her life. Things could not be better.

* * *

The ceremony was quick, which Waverly had not expected in the least. She anticipated it taking forever to get to their vows and finally,  _ finally _ be able to say ‘I do’ to Nicole, but it really just flew by. Then they rushed out to sign the papers, officially making this whole thing between them  _ legal _ .

Right after that, they ran off to go get changed into more comfortable outfits. There was no way in Hell Waverly was going to make it hours and hours in her princess dress, no matter how special it made her feel. Instead, she changed into a simple white sundress and some comfortable flats (at least, comfortable in comparison to the heels she had been wearing). Regardless, she knows she’ll probably be barefoot the moment their first dance ends.

Nicole opted for a vintage cut dress that Waverly absolutely adores on her for her change of clothes. Neither of them really saw any point in being uncomfortable when they are almost  _ obligated _ to be partying (as they rightly want to do- this is their time to celebrate  _ them _ , after all)

Waverly takes Nicole’s hand as they wait to be announced into the reception hall. Happiness is bubbling up in her chest as she bounces in place, waiting for their cue to head inside and see their family and friends. 

In all honesty, Waverly anticipated pangs of regret during the ceremony when Gus walked her down the aisle, but it never happened. She realized as she stood there, her aunt’s hand on her arm as she stated that she was the one giving Waverly away when the minister asked, that she actually had the best childhood she could have asked for the moment her Uncle Curtis and Aunt Gus took her in. Things may not have looked like they had been ripped from the pages of magazines, but she enjoyed herself, and her aunt and uncle made her feel loved and appreciated. It was certainly more than she could ever say for her time on the Earp homestead.

Not only that, but she gets a clean slate in the family department- at least in regards to creating her own. Waverly gets to show her daughter all the affection and attention she can possibly dole out to one human being, and so does Nicole. They get to write their own history, and Waverly knows for a fact that they are not going to repeat the sins of their own parents.

She-  _ they _ are going to make sure they get it right.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the newlyweds, Nicole and Waverly Haught!” The DJ’s announcement breaks Waverly from her thoughts.

Nicole squeezes her hand as they dance into the reception hall as the music plays, joined hands raised as the various guests clap and holler their approval upon their entrance.

Everything is just so good, Waverly’s not entirely sure she can process all of what is happening, but she knows it’s going to keep happening, regardless. She and Nicole enter the hall and everyone is still clapping and whistling their approval- Waverly knows Wynonna is the one currently whistling, because she’s making a show of it as Dolls and Doc clap beside her, grinning like fools.

“And now for their first dance!” The DJ says before he starts up the track.

The horns and drums blare as the song starts and Nicole pulls her close just as the lyrics start.

_ “ _ _ Baby, it's been a long day, baby. Things ain't been goin’ my way and now I need you here to clear my mind all the time.” _

Nicole and Waverly continue to dance. Nothing too fancy, but enjoyable all the same. Waverly can’t stop smiling as she looks at Nicole and leans up to kiss her, slowing their movements.

“I love you so much.” Waverly says, pulling back the slightest bit as they sway to the music.

“I love you too, _Mrs. Haught_.” Nicole says with a grin that shows dimples.

“I will never get tired of hearing that.” Waverly says, grinning back at Nicole.

“Well good, because I’m never going to get tired of saying it.” Nicole replies as she picks up their pace again to their original speed.

_ “Baby, we've come a long way. And baby you know I hope and I pray that you believe me when I say, this love will never fade away.” _

Nicole twirls her when the song starts to wind down and Waverly returns to her, back to Nicole’s chest as Waverly looks at her  _ wife _ , smiling broadly when the last line is crooned.

_ “You are the best thing, ever happened to me” _

A few more songs play, including the personal addition of Larger Than Life by Backstreet Boys. The moment the first note hits, Waverly jumps and grabs her sisters, pulling them onto the dance floor as they get situated and begin doing a choreographed dance that they used to do when they were kids (when Willa and Wynonna would let her join in, that is). Waverly’s laughing the whole time, and they don’t get all of the steps right, but it’s still the most fun she’s had with both of her sisters in the longest time.

Waverly hugs her sisters when the song ends and kisses Wynonna’s temple and moves in to give Willa a kiss on the cheek, but Willa pulls back and instead kisses Waverly on the forehead, Waverly’s hands wrapped around Willa’s for a few seconds before the kiss ends.

She never thought she would have this; both of her sisters at her wedding. There was no reason for Waverly to ever dream that she could have this, but here she is with both of her sisters, laughing and having a good time, and Waverly is sure almost nothing could really top today- not for a few months, at least. 

Waverly’s actually really glad they didn’t end up having the wedding in Purgatory. No one had to run out due to Revenants, and she never had to worry about literal demons crashing her wedding. All in all, moving everything to Denver was the right choice.

“I told you it was a good choice!” Waverly voices the sentiment to Nicole as another song plays and her new wife walks up to join all of them.

“You were right, and I hope that the photographer got pictures of that because I  _ know _ I recorded it!” Nicole says, grinning. 

“Delete it, oh my god!” Waverly yelps in reply.

“Not a chance in Hell!” Nicole says, laughing.

“I will steal that phone from you tonight and delete it myself if I have to!” Waverly argues.

“You are going to be far too busy tonight to be worrying about my phone, Mrs. Haught.” Nicole says with a shit-eating grin.

“Is that a promise?” Waverly says, cocking an eyebrow.

“Absolutely.” Nicole replies, pulling Waverly close.

Wynonna makes retching sounds behind them and Waverly blindly waves her sisters off.

“Oh, go find one of your boyfriends, Wynonna! Let me be cute with my  _ wife _ .”

Soon they’re kissing, and Waverly doesn’t care what anyone else on Earth is doing because she is kissing her  _ wife  _ in the middle of the dance floor and that is better than whatever anyone else could be doing, ever.

Waverly and Nicole finally head over to their table and sit down, still smiling and waving to guests that walk over to greet them and congratulate them. Most of them are family members of Nicole’s that Waverly never really gotten the chance to meet, but they smile at her and fawn over her all the same and Waverly can’t remotely say she minds. Though it does take them longer than Waverly anticipated to get to their table, and she is absolutely certain she will not remember anyone’s names come morning- and she won’t even get to blame it on alcohol.

Once they are finally at their table, Waverly slides into her seat and slips off her shoes, flexing her toes underneath the table. Her feet don’t hurt nearly as bad as she thought they would, but she is still very glad to get her shoes off all the same.

Just as she gets comfortable, there is a clinking of glass that draws their attention to Nicole’s father, who is farther down the table, the sound proceeding to halt to the music playing. 

“Hi, everyone. As the father of the bride- well, I guess I better specify which one, eh?” Greg says with a small laugh.

Waverly wants to laugh, but can’t bring herself to, all things considered with the joke. Nicole grabs Waverly’s hand on the table and gives it a gentle squeeze as Waverly looks up at her. 

“Nicole has always been strong willed. From the day her mother and I brought her home from the hospital, she has always had the last say in how things turned out- for everyone, really.” Greg laughs again before he clears his throat and continues, “Waverly, I’m sure Nicole can attest to this; I’m not really a man who’s good with words, but I just wanted to congratulate you and Nicole on getting married and to welcome you into the family. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better suited for our daughter.” Greg lifts his glass, “Cheers!” He says before taking a sip of his drink.

Waverly raises her glass and sips when she is supposed to, but there isn’t exactly much emotion behind it- or at least not affection behind it. She knows Greg is trying, and she’s deeply grateful for that fact- and for the fact that he is actually footing the bill for the wedding, but... it doesn’t take the sting out of his earlier actions. Especially when Waverly noticed the moment Greg started to speak, Nicole’s jaw tightened.

“He’s trying.” Waverly whispers to herself, trying to let things go, at least for now.

Waverly looks down the table to Hayley, who has stood up now, clinking her knife on her glass. 

“This should be fun.” Waverly says, looking at Nicole before looking back to Hayley.

“Hi everyone, I’m the maid of honor on Nicole’s side of things, and-” Hayley looks over at Jamie, who is tapping on her arm, and Hayley covers her hand over the mic as she replies- though her voice still carries enough for Waverly to hear her without the amplification. “I swear to god, Jamie. If you insist on calling me the  _ matron _ of honor one more time, you are going to have my stiletto so far up your ass you won’t be able to sit down for a week.”

Waverly can’t help but laugh at that. Even though the title is proper, Hayley has refused it, saying it makes her sound far too old.

Hayley clears her throat, shakes Jamie off of her, and smooths her hand not holding the mic down the skirt of her dress before she continues, “Alright, let’s try this again, shall we?” Hayley says, getting a laugh from the audience. “Like I was saying, I’m the  _ maid of honor  _ on Nicole’s side, and being her older sister, I have seen Nicole through every awkward stage in her lifetime. And let me tell you, I have some pictures from when we were kids that she would hate for me to ever bring out- so of course, I scanned them and am going to project them now. This first one you’ll see is Nicole in a Halloween costume. She was going as Xena, but we didn’t quite have the means for the costume…” Hayley starts in as the lights are dimmed.

Nicole starts to stand up in protest of Hayley’s idea, but Waverly tugs her back down because in all honesty, if that picture exists, Waverly wants to see it. 

“Just kidding!” Hayley says as the lights pick back up again, “Well, not about the picture. It exists, but I’m not going to show all of you that glory...if anyone wants to see it, I’ll be charging five bucks per view later on.” Hayley’s last words are strung together so tightly Waverly’s not sure anyone understood them, but she sure did. “Okay, being serious for a moment. Nicole, you are the strongest, bravest, and most stubborn person I have ever met. You’ve never met a challenge you didn’t eventually tackle one way or another and I am so proud of everything you have accomplished and will accomplish later on. You’re a wonderful person and I am so proud to call you my sister. Waverly, you really picked yourself a good one with her. Welcome to the chaos that is the Haught clan- after meeting your sisters, I’m sure you have what it takes to hack it with us. I look forward to everything you two will accomplish together and wish you all the best, really.” 

Hayley goes to sit down and Jamie motions to take the mic, which Hayley tugs out of her grip before turning it off and handing it down the table to Waverly, who looks over on her side to find Willa.

Willa, who apparently is nowhere to be found.

“What? Where is she?” Waverly asks, looking at Nicole and then down at Wynonna.

Wynonna just looks at Willa’s empty chair before shrugging as she looks back up at Waverly. 

“I am gonna kill her!” Waverly seethes, glaring at Willa’s seat as if she can somehow inflict pain on her sister who has gone MIA.

“Okay, okay, we can just wait, right? We can just wait for her to get back- it’s no big deal.” Waverly says, her words sounding frayed at the edges to her own ears.

“Hey, don’t worry. I got this!” Wynonna says, rifling into her cleavage and grumbling before pulling out a crumpled up, folded piece of notebook paper.

“What is  _ that _ _?”_ Waverly asks, wary.

“My speech.” Wynonna says, as if that should be obvious.

Waverly just stares as Wynonna unfolds the speech, first trying to just flick her wrist and open it, but realizing that is not going to work and manually opening it and pressing it to the table, trying to smooth out the wrinkles and creases.

“...That’s- that’s okay, Wynonna. We can just wait-” Waverly is cut off as Wynonna argues.

“No, dude, I got this. I promise!” 

“No, really, Wynonna, waiting is entirely an option. An option I would, no offense, really like to take right now.” Waverly argues, going through every available option and basically coming up with none other than the one staring her in the face, smoothing out her speech on the table. 

“Wait, how did you even know Willa was going to go missing?” Nicole asks, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion.

“I didn’t, Ijust like being prepared. It’s that whole-” Wynonna rolls her wrist, as if that will make the words come out any faster, “-That whole hero thing I’ve got going on, or whatever.” Wynonna finally finishes, her hands absently still trying to smooth her speech out on the table.

“Wynonna, be honest with me. Is Willa locked in a closet somewhere?” Waverly asks, voice skeptical.

“I mean, who knows? It could be a bathroom, or spare room, or I mean, yeah, a utility closet down the hall and to your right. We may never really know the truth…” Wynonna says, trailing off.

“Wynonna!” Waverly yells as she scolds her older sister.

“Nah, but for real, I have no idea where she actually is. But I did see douchecanoe Kevin-” Wynonna is cut off as Nicole jumps in.

“Wait, you mean my  _ brother _ ?” Nicole asks, confused.

“Yeah,  _ him _ , like seriously? I swear, the asshole put a bluetooth thing in his ear the second we got into the reception hall. Anyway, I think I saw him chatting Willa up earlier and-” Wynonna leans over the table a bit to look down it farther and then looks out to the other tables. “-Do you see him anywhere?” She finally asks.

Waverly looks around the table and sees no sign of Kevin or Willa and her stomach drops, “No…” She trails off. “Oh my god, Willa is going to ruin my wedding because she couldn’t keep it in her pants!”

“No one is going to ruin anything. I told you, I got this. Hand me that mic.” Wynonna says, motioning for the mic.

Waverly reluctantly hands it over, and Wynonna whispers to Waverly before she clicks it on, “Don’t worry, I won’t mention the-” She motions a baby bump over her own torso with a wink as she clicks the mic on and addresses everyone. “How the hell are you guys doing?!” Wynonna yells.

Waverly drops her head on the table and groans, but everyone gives a roarous reply, yelling and clapping their apparent enjoyment.

“Okay, so technically I’m not the maid of honor here, but I  _ am _ one of the sisters!” Wynonna says before pausing and pointing out to the audience. “Oh, and look! There’s the other one looking...disheveled. And oh, there’s Kevin, too. Wave hi to everyone, guys!” Wynonna says as she draws attention to the pair attempting to slink back into the party, motioning to Kevin to zip up his fly.

“Okay, enough of them. We’re not here for them, are we? No! We’re here for my dear baby sister and her new  _ wife _ ! Holy shit, honestly, I’m gonna be real with you guys for a second-” Wynonna says, talking with her hands as she switches the mic from one hand to the other 

“I never thought that sentence was going to come out of my mouth, but here we are!” Wynonna then looks at Nicole and settles her gaze on Waverly, “Here we are,” Wynonna repeats, voice softer with affection, “And babygirl, you look so happy. I am glad you finally found yourself a smart one, and someone who truly deserves everything you have to offer this world- which is a lot. You’ve always been the smartest of us all in this ragtag family of ours, and I am so proud of everything you’ve done. From putting up with my bullshit for years, to never giving up, even when everything’s stacked against you. You have always been bigger than our little town gave you credit for, and I’m so glad that Nicole here can see that in you- I know she can, ‘cause I see how she looks at you. If there was ever any two people destined to be together, you two are definitely it. You two crazy kids really have a chance.” Wynonna says with a raise of her glass. 

“Also, it doesn’t hurt that Nicole knocked you up- now let’s party!” Wynonna finishes her speech in a flurry of words before she is drowned out by raucous laughter and applause. 

Once everyone settles down, it’s announced that they are about to cut the cake. Waverly and Nicole get up from their seats at the table and walk over the the wedding cake, slicing off pieces for one another. Nicole actually feeds Waverly her piece, but Waverly wastes absolutely no time in shoving her piece into Nicole’s face, gaining laughter from the guests and herself.

“I thought you said you’d be nice!” Nicole says, wiping cake of of her face and eating some of it off of her fingers.

“I  _ was _ nice!” Waverly argues, “I thought you needed to really become one with the cake!” Waverly says with a laugh.

“I have cake up my nose!” Nicole argues, blowing her nose into a napkin.

“Aww, poor baby!” Waverly coos sarcastically at Nicole as she leans up to play at giving her a kiss.

Nicole has other ideas as she grabs Waverly by the waist and pulls her close, kissing her sloppily on the mouth. Waverly squeals in reply and half-heartedly tries to break free. Nicole has mostly cleaned up, her hands free of cake and icing at least, but her face is not as pristine and now Waverly is sporting their wedding cake on her face, too. She can feel it.

Waverly wipes herself clean just as another song plays overhead and Waverly finds herself squealing again as she recognizes the song and jumps in place, grabbing Nicole by the arms and dragging her out onto the dance floor as their wedding cake is wheeled away to be cut for their guests.

_ “I wanna sweep you off your feet tonight. I wanna love you and hold you tight. Spin you around on some old dance floor.” _

“I can’t believe you had them play this!” Waverly says, grinning.

“Of course I did! It’s not every day I get to serenade you and our daughter.” Nicole replies with a grin of her own.

It wasn’t even that long ago that this little scene played out. Waverly had an absolutely awful day at work, and Nicole walked into their bedroom, put her phone on it’s dock, and then pulled up this song. Waverly remembers laughing with Nicole the whole time as Nicole did her best impression of Elvis Presley's hip gyrations, even if it wasn’t remotely related to Elvis, and Waverly distinctly remembers stealing Nicole’s hat and putting it on before she pulled Nicole close and kissed her hard.  

“What am I gonna do with you?” Waverly says, voice thick with affection.

“Love me forever and ever?” Nicole offers.

“Mm, yeah, I think I can manage that.” Waverly says before kissing Nicole.

They keep dancing for a little while, and then when Waverly’s laughing at something Nicole’s said, she glances over to Wynonna, Doc, and Dolls. She can’t be too sure from the distance, but she’s almost certain she can see Doc blushing as he tips his hat and offers his hand to Dolls, who takes it immediately and they make their way over to the dance floor.

After a few more songs, a few awkward drunken dances, and Wynonna stealing Doc’s hat during a dance and very loudly refusing to give it back, things seem to be winding down as mostly slower songs are played. 

Waverly caught sight of Jamie following the wedding photographer around a few times during the night, and she wonders just what’s happened to them when they finally cross her path mid-conversation.

“Okay, I get it, you’re straight.” Jamie says, a bit dejected.

“Actually, I have a girlfriend.” Colby replies, sounding more than a bit annoyed.

Waverly catches Jamie’s eye, and Jamie points to Colby before mouthing, ‘I totally have a shot!’ and Waverly’s laughing into Nicole’s shoulder as she shakes her head.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” Nicole asks, curious.

“Your sister is insane.” Waverly supplies in reply.

“Not that I don’t agree, but you have to be a bit more specific.” Nicole sighs, though she’s still smiling.

“Jamie.” 

“Ah, yeah, I don’t know if that girl will ever be quite right.” Nicole says, shaking her head, “But she seems to be having fun following that photographer of ours around all night. So long as she didn’t mess up any of the shots, I’m fine with her having a new distraction for now- though I’m not sure that Colby girl is really too fond of her.”

“Well, we’ll just have to tip her extra for putting up with Jamie all night, then.” Waverly says, nodding.

“Sounds good to me.” Nicole agrees.

Waverly rests her head on Nicole’s shoulder as they keep swaying lazily to the music. Waverly’s still pretty buzzed from the excitement of the day, but her body seems to be having other ideas- mainly that sitting down would be the absolute best thing she could do in the next fifteen seconds.

“You wanna get out of here?” Nicole asks, voice soft in Waverly’s ear.

Waverly finds herself nodding, and realizes she wants nothing more right now to just be alone with Nicole. Soon, they’re running out of the reception hall and out of the building entirely to their waiting limo. They climb in, a flurry of appendages and laughter. 

“Oh my god, I’m  _ starving! _ ” Waverly says as she cuddles up to Nicole.

“Same. Why did we even spend all that time deciding on a menu when we didn’t get to eat any of it?!” 

“It’s some evil conspiracy, I swear!” Waverly agrees. “Oh my god, you know what I could really go for right now? A juicy burger and fries!” 

“It’s like you read my mind.” Nicole says with a grin before quickly pecking Waverly on the lips. When she pulls back, she directs their driver just exactly where they want to go.

Which is how Waverly has ended up in the middle of the only Five Guys restaurant in Denver. They placed their orders not too long ago and are waiting. Thankfully, the place is actually pretty deserted and Waverly and Nicole are shamelessly devouring peanuts when their order is called. 

They quickly grab their food and head back to the limo.

Waverly doesn’t waste any time in starting in eating her meal, going for the fries first because they’re easier to reach as they make their way to their hotel. 

In all honestly, Waverly is extremely happy they decided to wait to head out for their honeymoon until tomorrow because if she had to worry about catching a plane right now, she might go insane from hunger pains alone.

Instead, they’re heading for their hotel and that just sounds so good to Waverly. She gets to finally be  _ alone _ with Nicole and show her just how much she has appreciated her throughout this whirlwind they have been caught up in for the last six weeks as they tried frantically to get everything together for the wedding.

They both end up finishing their meals before they actually pull up to the hotel. 

Finally, they climb out of the limo and dispose of their trash. Nicole hands the limo driver a tip and tells the bellhop that they have just a few bags to deal with. Waverly stands there watching Nicole talk to the man before they head into the hotel and up to the receptionist.

“Hi, we’d like to check in. The room will be under Haught.” Nicole says as they walk up.

They are given their key cards and told which floor they’ll be on. Waverly is bouncing on the balls of her feet as the doors to the elevator close. It doesn’t take her more than a few seconds before she’s kissing Nicole, a bit frantic.

They jump apart the moment the doors open, though and Waverly knows she looks guilty, and feels a bit silly when she realizes no one is waiting to get on the elevator, they just need to get  _ out _ of it.

They make their way down the hallway and Waverly goes to swipe her key card, but Nicole stops her with her hand on her wrist.

“Hey, there are traditions to be followed here, Mrs. Haught.” Nicole says with a smirk.

“Oh, you’re not really going to, are you?” Waverly asks

“Of course I am!” Nicole says, “Unless you don’t want me to?” 

“I don’t mind, it’s just- are you sure you can lift me?” Waverly asks, trying to keep her tone playful but not quite managing it.

“You’re not fat, Baby.”  Nicole says, tone firm. They have had this conversation before. “Now, let me carry you over the threshold.” Nicole says, moving to stand a little behind Waverly.

Waverly finally gives in and just lets it happen and soon her arms are locked around Nicole’s neck as she is lifted into Nicole’s arms. Waverly can’t help the small little yelp of surprise that falls from her mouth, even though she was fully expecting it to happen. It takes a little bit of finagling, but soon enough, they are in the room and Waverly has clicked the lights on in the room. Nicole leads Waverly over to the bed and lays her down on it.

“Hi.” Waverly whispers.

“Hi.” Nicole says back, not bothering to straighten up or move away from Waverly or the bed.

“Missed you.” Waverly mumbles, moving in closer to Nicole.

“Don’t see how. You were with me all day.” Nicole replies, voice soft.

“Missed you so much.” Waverly says before closing the distance between them and kissing Nicole soundly on the mouth.

It takes a few more kisses before Nicole sits up and attempts to unzip her dress, not quite managing it before turning around and letting Waverly help her. Waverly kicks off her shoes and doesn’t bother to see where they land before she’s grabbing at the back of her dress, trying unsuccessfully to get it off of her body.

“Here, let me help.” Nicole says as Waverly sits up a bit better and turns a little so her back is towards Nicole.

It doesn’t take long for Nicole to unzip Waverly’s dress and pepper kisses to her exposed back as she slides the dress off of Waverly’s shoulders. Waverly is in only her bra, now which she knows Nicole is going to make quick work of taking it off of her, and just as soon as she has the thought, Nicole is doing just that. Finally, Waverly gets up off of the bed and lets her dress pool at her feet, very grateful she opted to change before the reception because it made this whole getting naked thing  _ so _ much easier.

Waverly climbs on the bed and over to Nicole, laying beside her, now. They’re kissing and then Waverly’s on her back with Nicole on top of her. Waverly spreads her legs a bit further to give Nicole better access and finds herself moaning into their next kiss.

“You’re giving me butterflies.” Waverly says against Nicole’s lips.

Nicole kisses her again and then moves her hand down Waverly’s torso. Before Waverly knows what’s happening, Nicole is jerking back and looks a bit shocked.

“Wh-what was that?” Nicole asks, wide-eyed.

“What was what?”

“I swear, I felt the baby move!” Nicole says, still looking awestruck as she glances down at Waverly’s belly, her hand hovering just above it as if she’s hesitant to actually place her hand back on it.

“I mean, I’ve been feeling her swish around for a while, I just didn’t think I was far enough along for you to actually feel it.” Waverly says, trying to make sense of things.

“Well, I definitely did!” Nicole replies, hand resting on Waverly’s stomach now. “Did you wanna say hi, little girl?” She coos to Waverly’s belly.

“She has the absolute worst timing.” Waverly groans, but she can’t help but smile. 

Waverly pulls Nicole down for another kiss, only to have Nicole pull away prematurely.

“What? What’s wrong?” Waverly asks, searching Nicole’s face.

“I don’t know, it just feels...weird to me, now.” Nicole says, frowning slightly and decidedly avoiding eye contact.

“What?” Waverly says, and her voice cracks on just that one word.

Then they’re sitting up and Nicole is falling all over herself to reassure Waverly that everything is okay.

“Baby, no, I- I didn’t mean- it’s just there’s a little person inside of you-”

“There has been for months! Why is this just dawning on you now?!” Waverly says, crying despite herself.

“I know, I just- shh, Baby, it’s okay.”

“Nothing is okay right now! You don’t want to have sex with me on our wedding night!” Waverly sobs, hands hitting the mattress in defeat.

“I just- Waverly, I’m just tired. I just want to be near you and sleep until we have to drag ourselves out of this bed and head to the airport. Does that sound...okay?” Nicole ventures.

“Fine!” Waverly sniffles in reply.

Waverly lays back down on the bed and scoots over to her usual side, snuggling up to her pillow, decidedly avoiding any opportunity that would force her to look at Nicole for the time being. Her back is to Nicole, and it takes a few seconds before Waverly feels the bed shift as Nicole lies down beside her, spooning her.

There’s a pause before Nicole speaks, kissing Waverly’s shoulder as she does so.

“Soooo, do you maybe wanna talk about baby names?” Nicole asks, voice muffled by Waverly’s shoulder.

“No.” Waverly huffs in reply.

“Really? Because I’ve got a few ideas…” Nicole says, trailing off.

After considering all of her options, and making absolutely sure there is a considerable pause between Nicole’s last words and her reply, Waverly speaks.

“Well...what did you have in mind?” Waverly finally asks, turning over in bed to face Nicole, earning herself a smile from her wife. “Don’t you try to be all cute with the dimples right now. I’m still mad at you...but go on.” 

“How do you feel about Olivia?” Nicole asks.

“...I swear if this is some SVU bullshit, I will literally kick you right out of this bed.” Waverly bites out in reply, “Besides, I was thinking more along the lines of a W name.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly go on their honeymoon

Nicole wakes up to the sound of her cell phone buzzing off of the nightstand. She groans before she blindly reaches over and tries to find the offending object, only to admit defeat and lift her head from her pillow as she reaches down and swipes her phone off of the floor.

She smacks her lips together, wincing as she tastes her morning breath on her tongue. Before she actually unlocks her phone, she looks over at her _wife_ still sleeping soundly next to her in bed.

They actually did it; they got married, they made things legal. Nicole can hardly believe it’s real, but the ring on her left hand is proof enough.

Finally, Nicole sighs as she unlocks her phone and scans over whatever she missed last night. The majority of the missed texts- and even some calls- are from Jamie, who seemed eager to leave voicemails when she couldn’t reach Nicole.

Received  
Jamie (10:45)  
Oh my fucking god i hooked up with that photographer!!!

Received  
Jamie (10:45)  
Holy shit she knows what she's doing too

Received   
Jamie (10:47)  
Why aren't’ you answering??? Worst big sister EVER. YOu beat Hayley for that awrd feel proud

Received  
Jamie (10:47)  
Might b e drunk just a ti ny bit

Received  
Jamie (6:09)  
CODE RED I WOKE UP NEXT TO HER AND SHE KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A  BEAUTIFUL DRUNKEN HOBO?????? H E L P

Received  
Jamie (7:35)  
DID I FORGETTO MENTION SHE HAS A GIRLFRIEND?! BECAUSE SHE DOES!!!! BUT I KIND OF REALLY WANT TO BE HER GIRLFRIEND NOW  


Nicole doesn’t bother to reply to any of the texts and she just dismisses the notification about the voicemails. She looks over at Waverly again and then attempts to slide out of bed without waking her. By some miracle, she manages to get her foot on the floor before Waverly stirs. Nicole freezes where she sits, one foot planted firmly on the floor. Waverly shifts in her sleep but doesn’t wake up.

Nicole manages to get out of bed without incident, tiptoeing to the bathroom. Once inside said bathroom, she realizes her error in judgement. They didn’t actually bother unpacking last night, so there’s nothing in here but the hotel usuals.

“God damn it!” Nicole whispers before she opens the bathroom door and steps out, making sure to be as quiet as humanly possible.

It takes her longer than she anticipated to find her toothbrush and toothpaste, but the moment she has it in hand, she heads straight back into the bathroom and brushes her teeth.

She jumps when Waverly starts banging on the door.

“Hurry up, I have to pee!” Waverly whines on the other side.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” Nicole replies, voice heavily muffled by the toothbrush in her mouth.

“Are you brushing your teeth?!” Waverly shouts.

“Noooo!” Nicole lies before spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing her mouth out.

“Liar!” A pause and then, “Fair warning, I’m coming in!” Waverly says about two seconds before she opens the door, apparently not having bothered to check if it was locked beforehand.

“Oh my _god.”_ Waverly says before brushing past Nicole and seating herself on the toilet, using it.

“Well, there goes all the romance in our lives.” Nicole deadpans as she looks at her wife.

“If there was a person the size of a bell pepper floating around inside you, then you would understand.” Waverly replies, sounding tired.

“Bell pepper?” Nicole whispers to herself.

There's a pause before everything seems to click in Waverly’s head.

“Awww, were you sneaking in here to brush your teeth for my benefit?!”

“Maybe...” Nicole trails off, breaking eye contact with Waverly.

“That is adorable!” Waverly coos in reply. “And completely unnecessary. I’ve kissed you with morning breath before.”

Nicole shrugs as she walks out of the bathroom. “Yeah, but have you kissed your _wife_ with morning breath before?”

“I mean, yeah. _You're_ my wife.” Waverly replies as she flushes the toilet and moves to the sink to wash her hands.

Neither of them bothered to close the bathroom door, so they just continue their conversation in different rooms.

Nicole sighs, considering her next words.

“Wait, were you just trying to get me to call you my wife?” Waverly asks, towel in hand as she dries herself.

“No! I mean, it was a nice perk, but I really wasn’t. I was just trying to be cute, damn it. Can’t you let me have that?” Nicole asks with a slight pout.

“Mm, yeah, I think I can.” Waverly purrs as she walks over to Nicole and kisses her.

“Seriously, you couldn’t have brushed your teeth while you were in there?” Nicole asks, pulling back from their kiss.

“Unless you wanted me to use _your_ toothbrush, no. But fine, fine, I’ll go do it now if you’re gonna whine about it.” Waverly huffs, though she is smiling the entire time.

Nicole watches Waverly walk over to her bag and rifle around in it until she comes up with her toothbrush. She rights herself and flicks the toothbrush in Nicole’s direction before she heads into the bathroom and closes the door.

“Is everything ready for later? We have a plane to catch!” Nicole yells as she sits down and debates going back to sleep.

Before Waverly can give any sort of reply, Nicole’s alarm goes off.

“God damn it.”  Nicole seethes before she grabs her cellphone and dismisses the alarm.

So much for going back to sleep.

Waverly comes back into the room, and Nicole's heart jumps into her throat. Nicole's not sure that reaction to seeing Waverly will ever stop- and she really hopes it doesn’t.

“What?” Waverly asks, looking confused.

“I asked if everything was ready.” Nicole repeats herself from earlier.

“No, I meant why do you have that goofy grin on your face?” Waverly asks, motioning to Nicole’s face.

“I just really like looking at you.” Nicole replies with a shrug.

“You’re an adorable liar because right now, I look awful.” Waverly sighs, running a hand through her hair.

“You do not.” Nicole says, walking over to Waverly and kissing her.

They keep kissing for a few seconds before Nicole pulls herself away, much to Waverly’s displeasure.

“Where are you going?” Waverly whispers against Nicole’s lips.

“I really have to pee.”

Somehow they manage to get dressed and pretty much packed before Waverly is distracted by texting her sisters.

“How’s Wynonna’s hangover?” Nicole asks as she zips up the last of their bags.

“Fine.” Waverly says. There’s a slight pause and then, “Oh my god, she just sent me a video of Willa _sobbing_ at the wedding!”

“You mean she _can_ feel things? Guess I owe Dolls twenty bucks.” Nicole says before she is knocked off balance by Waverly chucking a pillow at her head.

“You bet on whether or not my sister has _feelings?!”_ Waverly yells from behind her.

Nicole fishes her phone out of her pocket and pulls up a text message to Dolls as she replies to Waverly, “Nooo, I…” Nicole pauses as she types out the text.

“Oh my god, are you _texting him?”_ Waverly practically accuses, rightfully so.

“Huh? Oh, uhhh...no! Nope, not doing that at all.” Nicole says as she sends the text and locks her phone.

“Sometimes you’re a real asshole.”

“But that’s just one of the many things you love about me.” Nicole says with her back still to Waverly.

There’s no response, and Nicole finally stands up and turns toward her wife, who looks thoroughly unamused.

“ _Like_ about me?” Nicole ventures.

Waverly only gives Nicole her unamused look _harder._

_“_ Tolerate about me?” Nicole says, trying again.

More unamused Waverly.

“Okay, look, tolerate is the lowest I’m willing to go.” Nicole says, walking over to where Waverly is seated on the bed.

Waverly is looking up at her, still holding her unamused expression, but it’s cracking; Nicole can tell. She just has to push a little bit further, and Waverly will break completely.

“So what’s the verdict, Mrs. Haught?” Nicole asks, smirking.

“You think you’re real cute, don’t you?” Waverly asks, arms still crossed over her chest.

“Mm, yeah. But only because you tell me I am so often.”

Waverly rolls her eyes at that, but a small smile is definitely peeking through. She sighs before she answers, arms uncrossing as she pulls Nicole that much closer by her hips.

“You are insufferable.”

Nicole leans down and kisses Waverly before she replies, “You love me.”

It’s a statement, and Waverly doesn’t try to argue, which Nicole chalks up to a complete victory. She’s basking in the feeling before Waverly speaks between kisses.

“Can you get me the laptop?”

Nicole pulls back enough to reply, “I don’t know if I should be insulted that this is where your mind has gone after kissing me, or…?”

“I wanna check in with-” Waverly pauses as her phone chimes in her hand and she scans the screen of her phone, tapping out a quick reply to whoever it is, “-with Willa before we leave.”

“Yep, definitely insulted now.” Nicole deadpans before she goes over and gets the requested laptop, handing it over to Waverly.

Nicole sits down on the bed next to Waverly as they make the Skype call. It rings about five times before Willa finally answers.

“Is it working?” Willa asks before the video actually pops up.

“Yeah, just give it a sec.” Waverly says a second before the video comes on.

“Oh, there you are!” Willa says as she looks into the camera and gives a little wave.

“Why are you walking around?” Waverly asks, feeling a bit sick from the motion behind her sister.

“Well, Wynonna is passed out on the couch, and-” Willa starts, but Nicole cuts her off.

“Is that her foot I see?” Nicole asks, spotting a foot dangling over the back of the couch.

“Uh…” Willa trails off as she looks behind her, swinging the laptop a bit, “Yes.”

“Wait, wasn’t she just texting me?” Waverly asks, confused.

Just as the question is asked, a hand shoots up from the couch brandishing a cellphone. So at least they know Wynonna is still alive back there.  

“And now everything makes sense.” Nicole says with a roll of her eyes.

“Now, where is my baby?” Waverly asks, gaining a confused look from Willa.

“Um, shouldn’t _you_ know- I mean- what?” Willa fumbles over her reply.

“Orie. Where’s Orie, Willa?” Nicole clarifies with a laugh.

“Oh! He’s uh…” Willa trails off, looking around for Orie and setting the laptop down on the coffee table pointed at the couch and the lump that is supposedly Wynonna.

“Did you lose our dog?!” Waverly yells after a considerable pause.

The laptop is turned around in reply, only to show Doc and Orie- well, at first it’s mainly Doc’s mustache as he tries to figure out the camera.

“Officer Haught, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think you got yourself the runt of the litter.” Doc says, holding Orie around the middle and lifting him slightly as if to emphasize his size- or lack thereof.

“He’s just a baby!” Waverly shoots back in reply.

“He’s a hellhound is what he is!” Wynonna yells from behind the laptop.

“Turn us around.” Waverly demands, circling her finger, and Doc complies.

“Why are you calling my precious baby a hellhound?” Waverly asks, voice sharp with irritation.

“He woke me up at 4am and he ate some of my birth control pills- and before you get your panties in a twist over there, they are completely nontoxic to dogs. I already checked.” Wynonna supplies before either Nicole or Waverly can voice their concerns.

“Don’t kill my dog, Earp.” Nicole says, glaring at Wynonna, who is once again half-dressed- which seems to be a running theme with everyone in that house, today.

“Tell him to stay away from my-” Wynonna is cut off as Orie jumps on to the couch and starts licking her face. “Ugh, your cat, though. I like her.” Wynonna says as she pushes Orie off of her.

“Where is Whiskey?” Nicole asks.

“Well, I doubt there’s much left in this house after last night- Oh, you mean the cat!” Wynonna says with a dumb grin at her own joke.

“Yeah, the cat.” Nicole says, unamused.

“She’s fine. Probably upstairs staking claim on my bed and my man… well, one of them.” Wynonna says, keeping Orie off of her.

“Well, we know where Doc is. Where’s Dolls?” Nicole asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“Earning that gorgeous body of his.” Wynonna says, tone soft as she looks off-camera.

Just then, another half-naked man appears, but it’s decidedly _not_ Doc, judging by the six pack the stranger is sporting. Waverly whistles beside Nicole.

“Speaking of gorgeous bodies- who’s that?” Waverly asks, earning herself a glare from Nicole. “What? I might be married, but I’m not dead.” She says with a shrug.

“Oh my god, what am I gonna do with you?” Nicole sighs.

“You can punish me later, Baby.” Waverly whispers, kissing Nicole on the cheek.

Nicole can feel herself starting to blush, but her attention is immediately brought back to the laptop when the stranger leans down and grins at the camera, giving a small wave as he speaks.

“Hey there, baby sis.” Kevin says with a smug expression.

Nicole screams and closes the laptop.

“You were just ogling my _brother!”_ Nicole yells, looking over at Waverly.

“In my defense, he looked like he walked straight out of the second Magic Mike movie!” Waverly yells back in her own defense.

“Jesus, what is _with_ you and that movie?!” Nicole groans with a roll of her eyes.

“Do not yell at me about my fake strippers when you got a real one!” Waverly starts in.

“That was all Jamie’s doing and I-”

“Uh, guys, you know we can still hear you right?” Kevin breaks through their argument.

“God damn it end the call, Kevin!” Nicole growls out, and there’s a second before she hears the hang up sound.

“Are you going to pout about this the whole time we’re in Italy?” Waverly asks after Nicole shuts down the laptop and puts it away.

“I am not pouting.” Nicole argues, though Waverly knows she’s lying, “Besides, it was my _brother!”_

“Mm, what if I remind you just how much I like _you_?” Waverly says, voice going the slightest bit deeper with her suggestion.

“What did you have in mind?” Nicole asks, turning back around to face Waverly.

“Come over here and find out.” Waverly purrs, crooking her finger in a come hither motion, beckoning Nicole forward.

Nicole walks over to the bed where Waverly is seated and only stops when Waverly places her hands on Nicole’s hips. It’s when Waverly is unbuckling her belt that Nicole finally says something.

“What are you doing?” Nicole asks, looking down at Waverly.

“I’m sure you can figure it out.” Waverly says, unzipping Nicole’s pants and pulling them and Nicole panties down in one sort-of fluid motion.

“Are you really gonna-” Nicole is cut off as Waverly’s mouth wraps around her cock.

In all honesty, she was not expecting the morning to go this way at all. She expected stress, and Waverly dogging her to get out of the hotel and to the airport asap. But that hasn’t happened quite yet, judging by the blowjob she is currently receiving.

“Okay, so we’re doing this.” Nicole breathes out.

Waverly takes all of Nicole into her mouth, which isn’t exactly a difficult feat at the moment, given that she’s still completely soft. But that’s quickly changing as Waverly keeps sucking on her cock, swirling her tongue as she moves up Nicole’s shaft. Soon Nicole is completely hard and completely impatient.

Nicole’s hands go to the back of Waverly’s head and hold her steady as Nicole thrusts her hips forward. Only when she feels Waverly gag around her cock does she remember herself enough to pull back completely.

“Are you okay?” Nicole asks, concerned.

“I’m fine, come here” Waverly says completely dismissing her concerns and pulling Nicole back towards her.

Nicole continues fucking Waverly’s mouth, and Waverly, for her part, is sucking hard on Nicole’s cock when given the opportunity. Soon Waverly takes over, sucking and licking at Nicole’s shaft before she moves off of Nicole completely and moves down to suck on Nicole’s balls, her hand still pumping the head of Nicole’s cock using her saliva as lubrication.

“Fuck, that feels good.” Nicole moans, eyes closed and head rolled back as she just tries to feel everything Waverly is currently doing.

Waverly releases Nicole's balls and returns her attention to Nicole’s shaft, deepthroating her only to pull back up after a few seconds, sucking on the head of Nicole’s cock before moving back down and deepthroating Nicole again, this time holding for a little bit longer.

“Pull back up, I’m gonna come.” Nicole says, trying to move to give Waverly a bit more room to maneuver.

Nicole’s cock is still in Waverly’s throat when she comes.

“You know, you could give me more than a one second warning next time.” Waverly says, pulling back into an upright position.

“I tried-” Nicole starts, but doesn’t get very far.

“You failed.” Waverly quips in reply, “Get dressed. I have to go brush my teeth.”

Nicole starts pulling up her panties as she watches Waverly go over to their bags and produce a toothbrush and toothpaste.

“Uh, that’s _my_ toothbrush.” Nicole says, pointing as Waverly walks into the bathroom.

“It’s also _your_ cum in my mouth, so I think you’ll live.”

* * *

 They finally make it to Rome in one piece- Nicole still can’t get over the fact that the airport is literally named after Leonardo da Vinci. However, her amusement is steadily dying as the exhaustion hits her all over again. The flight was okay for the first half, but then the baby they were seated behind started screaming bloody murder. They vowed to never take their own child on a plane until she is at least in kindergarten- though they don’t actually foresee much need of plane travel in their future.

After getting their luggage and having a brief awkward encounter with a taxi driver and a language barrier, they make it to their hotel.

“Oh my god, I am never leaving this bed again!” Waverly groans as she falls face-first on the bed. There is a brief pause and then a muffled moan and what Nicole assumes is supposed to be more words.

“What was that?” Nicole asks, setting their bags down and walking over to the bed.

Waverly doesn’t reply with words, she just blindly pulls Nicole down on the bed with her. Nicole yelps, not having expected to be pulled down, but the moment her back hits the mattress, she lets out a loud moan, absolutely certain she has never been in a more comfortable bed in her entire life. Waverly makes a noise in reply before she turns her head to look at Nicole, grinning.

“We’re on our honeymoon.” Waverly whispers, excited.

“We are,” Nicole agrees, returning Waverly’s grin, though her exhaustion is starting to win out. “Give me a kiss and then let’s take a nap. Sound good?”

“Oh god, yes.” Waverly says before leaning over the slightest bit and kissing Nicole.

Their ‘nap’ lasts six hours.

“Waves, wake up.” Nicole says, shaking Waverly’s shoulder to try and wake her.

“Mm, what time is it?” Waverly asks, not having opened her eyes yet.

Nicole checks the clock on the nightstand before rolling back over and answering Waverly, “Three in the morning.”

“What?!” Waverly yells, bolting upright in bed, knocking into Nicole as she sits up.

“Ow, shit.” Nicole says as she sits up, too, slower.

“I’m sorry, Baby. But why in the hell did you let me sleep so late?” Waverly asks, sounding a bit panicked.

“I didn’t mean to, I was asleep, too- why is it even _my_ fault?” Nicole grumbles, defensive.

“It’s not- just- our first day in Italy is completely shot!” Waverly whines, pouting.

“Let’s just try to go back to sleep, okay? We have all day tomorrow to do- what was it you were talking about, before?” Nicole asks, trying to guide Waverly back down into the bed.

“Going to the Trevi Fountain and getting gelato.” Waverly supplies, still pouting.

“Okay, well, we can do that later, when people are actually alive.” Nicole says, closing her eyes and trying to get comfortable again.

“You mean conscious.” Waverly corrects.

Nicole grunts in reply.

It’s after twenty minutes that Nicole sighs out in defeat.

“Are you asleep?”

“Not even a little bit.” Waverly replies, flipping over in bed so she’s facing Nicole, now.

“So, what now?” Nicole asks, feeling a bit lost.

“I don’t know about you, but I am _starving_!” Waverly says, sitting up in bed.

“I could definitely eat.” Nicole says. Only seconds after, her stomach gurgles in agreement.

“Okay, I’m going to look over the room service menu. Do you have any idea about what you want?” Waverly asks, leaning over Nicole and swiping the menu off of the nightstand.

“Food.”

“Oh, so helpful.” Waverly says, rolling her eyes as she settles back down on the bed next to Nicole.

“I don’t know what I want. I have to see the menu.” Nicole says, turning on the bedside lamp.

“A little warning would have been nice!” Waverly says, wincing against the new light in the room.

“Oh, you’ll survive. Just let me see the menu.” Nicole says.

In a few short minutes, they’ve placed their orders and are waiting for their food to arrive. The lights in the bedroom are turned on now so they can actually see because they have given up all pretenses of anymore sleep for a while.

“Oh my god!” Waverly exclaims out of nowhere, her hand going to Nicole’s arm.

“What?” Nicole asks, thoroughly confused.

“Oh my _god_ \- _oh my god_ _!_ ” Waverly repeats herself, different inflections, and Nicole is still absolutely lost.

“What? What is it? Did we leave the fucking stove on at home or something?” Nicole ventures, though she hopes Waverly picks up on the sarcasm easily enough.

“We are just like Lorelai and Christopher!” Waverly says, smacking lightly at Nicole’s arm.

“Never compare me to Christopher ever again- or Luke, or any of those characters.” Nicole grumbles.

Waverly doesn’t reply for a few seconds, and Nicole ventures to look at her wife, who looks eerily like that stupid “I see what you did there” Spongebob face.

“What? Why is your face doing that?” Nicole asks, leaning the tiniest bit away from Waverly.

“You _like_ the show.” Waverly says, making it a statement.

“What? No, I don’t!” Nicole argues.

“Yes you do! You just named off two of Lorelai’s love interests!” Waverly says, squinting at Nicole and pointing her finger at her.

“Because you talk about them all the time!” Nicole says in her defense.

“Mhmmm. _Suuuure_ ” Waverly says, nodding.

“Oh my god, you _do!_ ” Nicole says, “Just drop it, will you?”

“Okay, okay.” Waverly says, holding her hands up in surrender.

A pause and then,

“You like Gilmore Girls!” Waverly says in a loud whisper.

* * *

 “Did you know that they collect all of the coins at night and give them to a charity that helps feed the needy here in Rome?” Waverly asks as they walk towards the Trevi Fountain.

“No, I didn’t know that.” Nicole replies, hoping she doesn’t actually sound disinterested.

It’s not that the fact wasn’t interesting- in fact, Nicole can really respect that little tidbit of information. It’s just that Waverly has been rattling off information about the fountain all day. When they finally got out of bed, Nicole felt like she had just taken a course on Italian history, starting with Trevi Fountain 101. She now knows that they draped it black out of respect for a deceased actor who filmed at the fountain, and at one point it was spitting out red water due to vandalism.

Nicole finds these slightly entertaining, but they’re getting to be a bit much. There’s no way she could forgive herself if she spoiled Waverly’s fun, though so she’s trying to make the best of everything.

“Mhm, they load the money up on rechargeable cards and everything!” Waverly offers up, seemingly not catching on to Nicole’s wariness. “Sorry, I’m talking too much, aren’t I?” Waverly asks, looking sheepish.

“No, not at all! It’s fine, Baby. Anything else about this place you wanna tell me before we get there?” Nicole asks.

Waverly offers up three more interesting facts before they reach their destination.

Nicole was not at all prepared for the sight that is now right in front of her. The fountain is huge, gorgeously crafted, and so much larger in not just scale, but everything than Nicole had anticipated.

“Wow.” Nicole mutters, completely flabbergasted.

“So, you like it?” Waverly asks, smugly licking her gelato off her spoon.

Nicole didn’t even _know_ one could lick gelato smugly, but if anyone was ever going to accomplish such a feat, it was going to be her wife.

“Uh-huh.” Nicole says, still looking at the fountain.

Only when Waverly puts a coin in her hand does Nicole break her eyes away from the fountain. Right, they came here to not only admire the fountain, but to also partake in the tradition of throwing coins in the fountain, coins that are actually a small charitable donation, as Nicole now knows.

They turn their backs to the fountain and throw the coins over their shoulders. Nicole wishes for the healthy and safe birth of their baby. She never asks Waverly what she wished for, but she’s certain it was the same thing. At least they have twice as much chance of it coming true, going by wish logic.

As they’re leaving the fountain, Waverly wraps her hand around Nicole’s arm and leans into her. Nicole knows that the day could end here and be absolutely perfect, but Waverly has a few more stops in mind for them. Namely, visiting The Colosseum and the Borghese Gallery.

It’s when they’re leaving the gallery that Nicole mentions food, and Waverly lights up.

“What? Why is your face doing that thing?” Nicole asks, motioning to Waverly’s face.

“I got us reservations.” Waverly says with a grin.

“Um, okay?” Nicole says, a bit confused.

“At Pipero al Rex!” Waverly offers, jumping a little, hanging on to Nicole’s arm as she does so.

“Wait, seriously? I thought you said that place was nearly impossible to get a table at?” Nicole asks in disbelief.

“And yet, I got us one,” Waverly says, smiling and lifting her chin up, “It’s okay, you can worship my brilliance later.”

“I am going to hold you to that.” Nicole says, leaning in to Waverly a bit.

“You better make good on that.” Waverly says.

Their meal is absolutely fantastic. They decided to do what most reviews told them and let the chef decide their courses after they gave them their tastes and dietary restrictions. Nicole didn’t really know what to expect, but all of the various foods have not only been delicious but a real adventure, just as the reviews said. She knows Waverly has been enjoying herself because she hasn’t stopped raving about it entire time they have been eating.

They’re currently waiting on their next course.

“So, Kevin and Willa, yeah?” Waverly says before taking a sip of her water.

“Did you have to bring them up? I thought we were having a nice time.” Nicole groans.

“We _are_ having a nice time and it seems like something we should talk about because it’s kind of happening, whether you like it or not.” Waverly says, setting her glass back down on the table.

“Yeah, but it’s _gross_.” Nicole whines.

She doesn’t care if she sounds like a child. The idea of her brother being with anyone has always been off-putting, and the idea of him hooking up with _Willa_ of all people makes it that much worse and previously, Nicole wasn’t even sure that was possible. Honestly, she’d hoped the stunt at the wedding had put them off of pursuing anything together, but it seems she was wrong.

“It’s not gross. Personally, if Willa can find someone that makes her happy, then I’m all for it.” Waverly says with a shrug.

“We don't-” Nicole cuts herself off, lowering her voice to a whisper, “-we don’t know about anyone making anybody else happy, unless you count them making each other’s swimsuit areas all tingly.”

“Would you shut up?” Waverly snaps, “Willa deserves to be happy, and if your brother can do that, then that’s all that matters. It’s not like I’m a huge fan of him, either!” Waverly replies in a harsh whisper.

“Oh my god.” Nicole says, straightening up as a realization hits her.

“What?” Waverly asks, looking skeptical.

“If those two have kids, that would make them our baby’s double cousins!” Nicole reveals the realization to an underwhelmed audience.

“What the hell is a double cousin?” Waverly asks.

“You know, it’s when a sibling of one parent marries the sibling of another parent and they have a kid.” Nicole clarifies.

“Oh, we just called them cousins Margot and Jared, but okay.”

Nicole just stares at Waverly for a few seconds.

“What?” Waverly asks, looking up at Nicole right before their food is placed in front of them.

“What have I married into?” Nicole asks, shell shocked.

* * *

 “Remind me to never doubt your skill and brilliance ever again.” Nicole says as she unlocks the hotel room door and walks in, holding the door for Waverly.

“I don’t know what would ever cause you to do such a thing in the first place.” Waverly says as she walks into the room and sets her purse down on the dresser.

“Me neither, so let’s hope I never do.” Nicole says, walking behind Waverly, her hands sliding over Waverly’s arms as she moves to kiss Waverly’s neck.

“Mm, if you start to, I’ll be sure to remind you, though.” Waverly hums before Nicole’s fingers go to the zipper of Waverly’s dress pulling it down enough that Waverly can reach it herself.

“I don’t know about you, but I for one am absolutely dying to try out that Jacuzzi tub in there.” Nicole says as she walks over to the bathroom, stopping just before she gets there. “Unzip me?”

Waverly steps out of her dress and smiles at Nicole as she walks over and unzips Nicole’s dress all the way. Waverly kisses Nicole’s shoulder before she steps back.

“Go enjoy your Jacuzzi, I have to check in with Willa and Wynonna.” Waverly says, turning towards their bags.

“What time is it there?” Nicole asks as she sits down on the bed just long enough to take her heels off and let them hit the floor unceremoniously.

“Like 2 PM.” Waverly says, easily.

“You looked that up before we got here, didn’t you?” Nicole asks, smirking.

“Of course I did. Now shoo!” Waverly says, waving her hand at Nicole, attempting to dismiss her.

Nicole shakes her head but gets up and walks into the bathroom all the same, disrobing as she goes. She sits on the edge of the tub as she turns the water on and thankfully doesn’t have to wait long at all for it to heat up to the absolute perfect temperature. Unfortunately, the wait for the tub to fill up is still boring, but Nicole survives it all the same.

Soon enough, she’s slipping into the tub, sighing as she does so. The water feels absolutely fantastic and only gets better once Nicole actually turns the jets on. Nicole closes her eyes and just enjoys the feeling of the water, willing her muscles to finally relax.

This was just what she’s been needing. An actual vacation. No worrying about Waverly’s family or her own, or the literal demons crawling around Purgatory. It’s her time to do whatever she wants and right now, she’s not opposed to the idea of slipping down into the water and just trying to become one with this damn tub. If she hadn’t already married Waverly, she might consider looking into the legality of marrying an inanimate object.

“Well, you look like you’re having a nice time.”

Nicole jumps the slightest bit as Waverly’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, uh yeah. You wanna join me? There’s plenty of room.” Nicole says, holding her hand out to an already-naked Waverly.

“Mhmmm.” Waverly hums in reply.

Nicole sits up as Waverly climbs into the tub to join her.

“Oh my god, this is heaven!” Waverly moans.

“Fitting, coming from a girl from Purgatory.” Nicole says with a smile, proud of her joke.

“That was the worst.” Waverly replies, not opening her eyes to even look at Nicole, “Oh, stop pouting.”

“I’m not pouting.” Nicole says, settling down again and sighing as she relaxes.

In all honesty, Nicole wishes she had the means to afford a tub like this for her own place- or even the _space_ to have a tub like this at her place. But enjoying it for now will have to do because there is no way in hell she could rip this thing out of the bathroom and stuff it in her luggage like one of those little shampoo bottles, or a bathrobe. The hotel staff would _probably_ notice.

“Mm, this is nice.” Waverly says, breaking the silence that had fallen over them.

“It really is.” Nicole agrees, not having bothered to open her eyes.

“No, it’s _really_ nice.” Waverly says, voice going deeper.

Nicole hums her agreement before Waverly is leaning in, her hand travelling up Nicole’s thigh, only to wrap around Nicole’s cock. Nicole opens her eyes.

“What are you doing?” Nicole asks, though not really needing to.

“Having some fun.” Waverly says as she begins to pump Nicole’s cock.

“Well, yeah, I got that, but-” Nicole is cut off.

“You’re talking too much.” Waverly says as she leans in and kisses Nicole, effectively silencing her.

Waverly’s hand is still around Nicole’s cock, sliding up and down her shaft, as they kiss. Nicole assumes Waverly’s just trying to make up for lost time, given that on their actual wedding night, it seems the _only_ pair not having sex, was them. That’s Nicole’s fault, and she knows it. She was just taken very off-guard by the whole baby moving thing- it didn’t feel like what she had been expecting, either.

But now they have time to themselves in a romantic city far away from all of their stresses, and worries, and danger. Nicole wants to be as close to Waverly as she possibly can, and where Waverly is leading them will definitely get them there.

The kissing isn’t frantic like Nicole almost expected, it’s lazy and slow, letting Nicole really take in the moment of being so close to Waverly. In fact Waverly’s pace around Nicole’s cock matches their makeout speed until Waverly starts leaning in more, her kisses becoming a bit more greedy as she nips and sucks on Nicole’s bottom lip. Waverly’s grip around Nicole’s cock tightens and her speed picks up as well and Nicole can’t say it’s an unwelcome change at all.

Waverly keeps up her ministrations, and Nicole is achingly hard because Waverly is so close, and yet not close enough- especially when she keeps varying her pace. Waverly breaks their kiss only to reposition herself so that she’s sitting in Nicole’s lap. She doesn’t sink down on Nicole’s cock immediately like Nicole would have liked, and instead, Nicole’s cock is pressed between her stomach and Waverly’s pelvis. Waverly shifts her hips forward, gaining friction, though Nicole knows Waverly can do a bit more with it.

Waverly keeps shifting her hips forward, slowly. Too slow to really give Nicole anything to work with because the moment it becomes something she can really enjoy, Waverly is pulling her hips back at the same achingly slow pace before rolling them forward again in what feels like slow motion, and Nicole is becoming impatient. A growl forms in the back of her throat, unbidden, but there all the same.

“Tease.” Nicole breaths out before she kisses Waverly hard on the mouth.

“You love it.” Waverly says, still moving her hips forward.

“Mm, you know what I’d love more?” Nicole asks, not waiting for a reply before her hands go to Waverly’s hips, trying to still her so she can lift Waverly up.

“What’s that?” Waverly asks with a smirk.

“I’d love to fuck you.” Nicole replies.

Waverly wordlessly reaches under her and grabs Nicole's cock while Nicole lifts Waverly up. Soon they’re in the right position and Waverly sinks down on Nicole’s cock, finally. Waverly moves her hips after a few seconds.

Then they’re kissing, though the kisses don’t last too long with Waverly moving like she is, but they try, regardless. Though before Nicole can really process what is happening, Waverly is slowing her pace and Nicole just wants to scream out her frustration.

“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?” Nicole asks, looking up at Waverly, confused.

“I want to enjoy this.” Waverly says with a smirk before she lifts her hips slowly.

Nicole grabs at Waverly’s hips, trying to move her the way she wants her, but Waverly is having none of that as she stays where she is, seated in Nicole’s lap.

“Stop fighting it, or I’ll stop completely, and you’ll only have your hand to console you, tonight.” Waverly bites out, stilling her hips, looking at Nicole like this is a challenge she’s not supposed to meet.

Nicole groans out her frustration- though it seems to roll into a growl at the end of things- but she has finally stopped trying to move Waverly. In fact, she’s closed her eyes and just let herself feel what’s going on as Waverly lifts her his up, only to drop herself back down, slow as all hell.

It’s taking everything in Nicole not to demand satisfaction, to not sit there and try to manipulate Waverly into moving exactly the way she knows they both usually want. But that’s not what Waverly wants right now. What Waverly wants is to torture her.

“Please…” Nicole whines, opening her eyes to look up at Waverly.

“Please what?” Waverly asks, sounding smug.

Nicole wants to fuck that smug superiority right out of Waverly, but she knows she’s probably not going to be given the opportunity anytime soon. She is along for the ride tonight- literally.

Nicole mumbles her reply, “Please go faster”

“What was that, Baby? I didn’t hear you.” Waverly says, cupping a hand around her ear.

Nicole pauses before she replies, having to swallow her pride and just respond properly.

“Please, go faster.” Nicole says again, this time louder.

“Mm, good girl.” Waverly says before she lifts her hips again, this time dropping down on Nicole’s cock fast, setting a pace Nicole hadn’t been prepared for.

“Oh fuck, that feels good!” Nicole chokes out.

Nicole hand goes under the water to rub small, fast circles over Waverly’s clit, trying to make Waverly feel good, but also hopefully enticing her to keep up the pace she has set for them at this point. Nicole is not above this. Especially if it leads to them both getting exactly what they want.

After a while, Nicole’s hands go to Waverly’s hips as she moves her own hips up to meet Waverly’s pace, and hopefully only drive her cock deeper into Waverly. The tactic seems to work as Waverly moans and then compensates for the lack of stimulation to her clit by reaching down and touching herself as Nicole keeps moving her hips as fast as she can, slowing down every now and again just to position herself so that she doesn’t end up slipping and losing all of her leverage.

“Keep going, Baby. Please don’t stop- don’t stop!” Waverly moans, her head hung back and her eyes closed.

Nicole keeps her pace and then she feels Waverly’s body tighten around her. Waverly screams her orgasm, the sound bouncing off of the walls around them. Nicole slows and stops as Waverly comes around her cock, unwilling to tackle that resistance in this current setting. After a few seconds, Waverly rolls her hips into Nicole and then steadies herself on Nicole enough to lift her hips up as she sinks back down on Nicoles cock, riding her to another orgasm, and as Waverly’s coming down the second time, Nicole pounds into her, losing all her rhythm, her actions just becoming a frantic pace as she tries desperately to catch her own release.

Nicole’s hands slide up Waverly’s sides as she moves to cup Waverly’s breasts. They’ve started to grow a bit with her pregnancy, though not much yet. Nicole knows that Waverly’s chest is only going to get bigger as her pregnancy progresses, and she can’t say for a single second that she minds. Especially with the newfound fact that Waverly’s nipples have become increasingly sensitive.

Nicole uses that information to try and drive Waverly over the edge a third time, rolling Waverly’s nipples between her fingers. That manipulation coupled with Nicole still thrusting into her causes Waverly to moan loudly. It doesn’t take long for Waverly to roll her hips into Nicole to meet her in her frantic pace, both of them desperate for the same thing.

“Fuck, that feels so fucking good, keep doing that! Oh god, I’m gonna come!” Waverly yells before she is wordlessly screaming her third orgasm.

Nicole’s grip on Waverly’s chest increases before she lets go, trying to grip onto Waverly’s hips and steady herself enough to finally let herself come. Nicole’s losing all semblance of a pace or rhythm and just wants to feel everything she’s able to, her cock buried deep inside of Waverly.

“Come for me, Baby.” Waverly all but demands.

Nicole has been holding out as best she can, but that small little order sends her toppling over the edge and she’s in freefall.

“Fuck, Waverly!” Nicole grunts, her arms wrapping around Waverly’s waist as she gives one last deep thrust and comes, hard.

Nicole can feel Waverly’s thighs shaking and she knows she is in no position to even think about moving any time soon. The water has gone cold, though so it’s a bit uncomfortable. But having Waverly pressed so close to her is not a bad thing whatsoever.

Waverly leans down, essentially laying on Nicole now as she runs her fingertips up Waverly’s back.

“I think we made a mess.” Waverly whispers, voice hoarse as she laughs, looking around the bathroom.

It’s true. There is water everywhere on the floor. But the hotel staff know they are on their honeymoon- hell, they upgraded their room for free upon finding out, in fact. Nicole’s pretty sure the staff had anticipated their rather recreational use of the facilities given that known fact. But she does feel bad about the mess all the same, even if everyone _was_ actually expecting these things to happen.

“Yeah, looks like it.” Nicole replies before she turns her head to face Waverly, kissing her deeply, “We can try to clean it up once we can walk again.”

Waverly settles back down, her head on Nicole’s chest. Nicole doesn’t even care that much about the cold water right now. She just loves being this close to Waverly. Though soon, Waverly is whining about the temperature of the water and Nicole has to admit it was starting to grate on her. They finally slowly disentangle themselves from the tub and dry themselves off. The floor still has water on it, but the majority has already dried- though once dressed in their pajamas, they throw a few of their extra towels down on the bathroom floor in hopes of rectifying their mishap.

“So how did you like your first official day in Italy?” Nicole asks as they slide into bed.

Waverly replies once she is settled down on top of Nicole.

“I loved it, thank you so much.” She says, leaning up and kissing Nicole.

“What are you thanking me for?” Nicole asks, slightly confused.

“For just- being you.” Waverly says with a smile.  
  
Nicole feels Waverly’s smile against her skin until she dozes off, and knows she’s sporting the same until sleep catches her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a baby shower and lots of emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Life kind of got in the way for a while there but I hope the extra long chapter makes up for my absence. This chapter features another time skip too!!

_The way you look at me, girl._  
_You can't pretend_  
_I know you ain't in love with him.  
Break up with him”_

The song plays on the radio as they drive down the road heading to Denver. Waverly didn't take too long settling on a radio station once the ones from Purgatory faded out beyond recognition, which honestly surprised Nicole. Usually it’s a fight for Waverly to take her hand off the dial, but the first one she found had music playing. Music they _both_ actually liked, so it stuck.

Nicole is pretty sure this will only last as long as it takes for a commercial to pop up, but for now, she’s set to just enjoy the drive.

“You know this song pretty much describes us?” Waverly says from the passenger seat.

Nicole can’t help but smile.

“I never pressured you to break up with Champ.”

“No, life did that well enough for me before you ever came into the picture,” Waverly says, and Nicole can see her grin in her peripheral before she continues, “But then you _did_ come into the picture making moon eyes at me at every given opportunity, and let’s be honest, this song describes you to a tee.”

“I did not make moon eyes at you!” Nicole pipes up in her own defense, though she knows it’s a lie.

“I think literally everyone in Purgatory besides Champ will back me up that you did.” Waverly argues.

“Why _besides_ Champ?” Nicole asks, slightly confused.

“Do you really think he noticed anything other than himself? I mean, the only things he really has going for him are his looks, and the fact that he’s good in bed.”

“Ugh,” Nicole groans, “I do _not_ need to hear about Champ Hardy being good in bed- especially not from my wife!”

“What?!” Waverly says with a laugh before continuing, “What can I say? He took direction well.”

“Stop, stop! I will accept that you slept with him, but I don't need to know how it _was!_ ” Nicole says, trying to turn her attention to the road and away from this conversation.

“You're better than him, anyway.”

“Damn straight I am.” Nicole agrees, smug. “On all accounts.”

“Watch out, or your head won’t fit through the door when we get to your mom’s place.” Waverly taunts, though Nicole is not up for taking the bait.

Nicole grunts a noncommittal reply and refocuses on the road ahead, thankful that they haven’t hit much traffic at all, yet. She knows that will change the minute they actually get into Denver, but for now, she’s going to enjoy the lack of other drivers while she can.

“Everyone knows where they’re going, right?” Nicole asks, glancing over at Waverly, who has started to lean over towards the radio dial again.

“I texted Wynonna and they’re amazingly already on their way. I asked them if they needed directions, but she said that Dolls kept saying they’d be fine with the GPS he has in the SUV, so I think they’re good.” Waverly says, settling back in her seat.

“Gus put her foot down when they tried to get her to join them. She said she’d rather eat up her own gas on the trip there and back than be stuck in a car with all of them for six hours total.”  
“Smart woman, your aunt.”

Waverly has finally switched the radio station, and Nicole can’t help but once and for all question the action. Even though she enjoys the constant, she knows there is a simple solution to the problem.

“Why don’t you just set presets?”

“Because that would take all the fun out of it. Besides, what would I do when we go out of town?” Waverly replies, turning the radio dial again in what feels like a spiteful move.

“Okay, okay, keep switching the stations to your heart’s content.”

“I will-” Waverly cuts herself off and sucks a breath in.

“You okay over there?” Nicole asks, glancing over at Waverly.

“Mm, yeah, she just kicked really hard is all.” Waverly says as she exhales slowly, “And don’t you dare say it was about the damn radio.”

“Language.” Nicole scolds, “You know she can hear us in there.”

Waverly smiles as she replies, “Yeah, I know. She gets all squirmy every time you come home from work.”

“Really?” Nicole asks.

“Mm, you already knew that.” Waverly hums as she shifts in her seat.

“Yeah, but I still like hearing it.” Nicole replies.

Nicole smiles and reaches over for Waverly, keeping her eyes on the road. Waverly grabs her hand and places it on her belly. Nicole didn’t expect much, but the moment her hand connects with Waverly’s stomach, the baby kicks again. She’s never really going to get used to that sensation.

“Hey there, Baby Haught. Glad to know you’re really in there, but you’re hurting your Mommy.”

“Was there any doubt she was in there, really? _Really?_ ” Waverly asks, stressing her last inquiry.

“Well, no, not really. It just seemed like the thing to say.” Nicole says, straightening back up and returning her hand to the steering wheel.

They’ve just passed the ‘Welcome to Denver’ sign, so it won’t be much longer until they’re at Nicole’s parent’s house. It still feels a bit awkward going back there, given the still tense relationship between Nicole and her father, though she has been reassured he won’t be there for the duration of the baby shower.

“We really should settle on a name.” Waverly muses.

“We have scoured those baby name sites, and even some books, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that I hate every single W name in there.” Nicole grumbles, “If you would just let go of this-”

“It is a family tradition, Nicole!” Waverly argues, for the millionth time.

“It literally only started with your _dad_ .” Nicole reminds her, because it’s _true_.

“You’re going to miss your turn.” Waverly says as she points towards the lane coming up ahead.

Nicole gets into the proper lane and makes the turn she needed to make with little incident.

“Nice deflection, there.” Nicole scoffs, not taking her eyes off the road.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with Whitney.” Waverly says, sounding satisfied with her suggestion and Nicole really isn’t here for that.

“There is _everything_ wrong with Whitney.” Nicole fires back, “I still say we should just go with whatever name we both like.”

“We will find a _W name_ we both like.” Waverly states, leaving little room for argument.

Nicole just sighs and stops attempting to steer the argument in her favor. She already lost it before she ever started fighting, and she knows that much to be true.

They pull into the driveway of Nicole's parent's house and don’t get out immediately after Nicole shuts the engine off.

“You feeling okay?” Nicole asks, looking over at Waverly, who looks pained.

“Yeah, she just keeps shifting around. Guess she can’t find a good position. I just hope she doesn’t punch me in the ribs again.” Waverly says, taking slow deep breaths in and then exhaling.

“Well, we can wait here as long as you need.” Nicole says, taking the keys out of the ignition.

It only takes a few minutes before Waverly is nodding to herself and Nicole is making her way out of the truck and around to the passenger side.

“You ready for this?” Nicole asks as they walk up to the front door.

“I should be asking _you_ that. You’re the one that has to spend the entire day with my sisters, _your_ sisters, and your mom all while sober.” Waverly quips

“Oh god... okay, if we leave right now, we could have the majority of the day-” Nicole says, turning back to look at her truck

She is cut off by Waverly ringing the doorbell.

So much for _that_ plan.

* * *

 “Oh boys, you really don’t have to do this, I feel awful making you set up after coming all this way!” Judy says as Doc and Dolls carry another folding table out into the living room.

Nicole tries to ignore that her mother’s eyes linger on Dolls as she directs them where to set up the table.

“Oh, it’s our pleasure, Mrs. Haught.” Dolls says as they get the table set up.

“None of that. Call me Judy, please.” Judy corrects, and Nicole can’t help but notice that her mother is blushing.

This is going to be a very long day.

Finally, everything is set up the way Waverly envisioned. Nicole had half-expected the living room made up to Waverly’s specifications before they even got there, knowing her mother. But instead, Waverly seemed content to direct the heavy lifting from the comfort of the couch.

“You know you won’t always be able to boss them around, right?” Nicole says as she sits down on the couch next to Waverly.

“Yeah, that’s my job.” Wynonna pipes up as she walks over to the couch and plops down, food in hand.

“Did you seriously make a sandwich?” Waverly asks, raising an eyebrow at her sister.

“Hey, when a woman offers me a sandwich, I am not about to turn it down.” Wynonna says right before taking a large bite of said sandwich.

“Oh my god, you’re making me hungry, gimme that!”

Waverly leans over and grabs for Wynonna’s sandwich.

“What the hell, dude? No!” Wynonna says as she leans away from Waverly awkwardly.

“Oh, come on! I have a growing life inside of me!” Waverly says, still reaching for the sandwich.

 _“I’m_ a growing life! Go find your own!”

“You’re a grown woman, Wynonna!” Waverly argues, still trying to reach over Wynonna for her food.

“With _needs!_ ” Wynonna corrects, still trying to get away from her sister.

“Wynonnaaa!” Waverly whines, giving up and straightening back up in her seat, pouting loudly.

“Okay, if it’ll stop all of-” Nicole gestures to Waverly and Wynonna vaguely, “-this, then I’ll go make you something, Baby”

Waverly glares at Wynonna for a few seconds before looking over at Nicole and smiling fondly, “Aw, thank you. At least _someone_ here understands the importance of feeding me and the life that is growing inside of me every second.”

Wynonna rolls her eyes and groans before trying to stifle said groan with a bite of food.

Nicole stands up to head into the kitchen, only to see her mother and Willa coming out of the kitchen holding a few trays of food.

“Hi girls, I didn’t know what you all liked, so there’s a bit of a spread. Some sandwiches and some finger food. Please help yourself.” Judy says as she sets the tray of sandwiches down on the coffee table in front of Waverly and Wynonna while Willa takes the tray of various vegetables and dip to one of the tables that Doc and Dolls had set up just a few minutes earlier.

“Okay, well, I know that Jamie and Hayley are on their way here. It shouldn’t be much longer, actually.” Judy says as she looks around the room.

Nicole sits back down on the couch next to Waverly.

“You know, boys once those streamers are set up, we’re kickin’ you the hell out of here.” Wynonna yells in Doc and Dolls’ direction.

“Now wait just a second. We helped set up this shindig of yours, so why in the _world_ can’t we attend? It’s not like you’ll be talking about anything I haven’t heard before. I _am_ a doctor, after all-”

“You’re a dentist!” Dolls says as he steps down from the ladder he had been on.

“Well, I don’t see why that matters-” Doc goes into his defense, only to be cut off by Wynonna.

She walks up to the two men, Doc having stepped down from his position on his step stool, and wraps her arms around them both while not-so-subtly leading them towards the front door slowly as she explains.

“There’s going to be a lot of women talk going on. Real gnarly stuff, guys. I don’t think you wanna be here for that, right? You’ve got better things you could be doing- making a drum circle, beating your chests, stuff like that. Or if that fails, there was a Red Lobster down the road.”

“But I was promised there would be adorable baby supplies to coo over.” Doc says, almost pouting.

“Come on, I’ll buy you a shrimp cocktail.” Dolls says, pulling away from Wynonna and slipping his arm around Doc’s waist.

“Ooh, I do enjoy those!” Doc says, lighting up as he is lead away and out the front door.

Wynonna returns a little bit later, Jamie following behind her.

“Look who I found in the driveway!” Wynonna exclaims, crooking a thumb back behind her.

“What’s up, bitches!” Jamie yells as she raises her arms out at her sides.

“Jameson!” Judy yells from her seat in one of the chairs.

“Oh, hi Mom. Didn’t see you there!” Jamie says, looking sheepish as she bends down slightly and wiggles her fingers in greeting in her mother’s direction.

“The party has arrived…” Nicole deadpans as she takes a sip of her drink.

“So,” Jamie starts as she plops down in one of the empty chairs, “Not that it’s not lovely to see all of you, but where’s the booze?”

There’s a slight pauses before Nicole finally answers,

“There...isn’t any? I thought you knew that. This _is_ a baby shower, Jamie.” Nicole says, looking over at her sister, frowning.

“I know that, dear sister. That’s why I brought you this rockin’ gift!” Jamie says, holding up said gift bag and gesturing to it before placing it down beside her seat again, “But that is no reason to deny me alcohol!”

“No, but that fact that you’re underage is totally a reason.” Nicole grumbles, flicking a baby carrot in her little sister’s direction.

“Rules are meant to be br- ow! Hey, that hurt!” Jamie says, rubbing her arm where the carrot assaulted her.

“It was a carrot, you loser.” Nicole says, rolling her eyes.

“Throwing food now, Nicole? I thought you broke that habit when you were nine.” Hayley says as she enters the living room.

“I-” Nicole doesn’t get any further in her statement before Judy is up from her seat.

“Hayley, why didn’t you let me get the door for you?!” Judy says as she begins fussing over her oldest daughter.

“It’s fine, Mother. I’m here now, aren’t I? I don’t think the world is going to rotate backwards because I let myself in.” Hayley says, shrugging out of her coat.

“Don’t take that tone with me, young lady.” Judy snips, taking Hayley’s coat and walking over to the coat rack to hang it up.

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry. I just know I’m stepping into the land that alcohol forgot and it’s making me a bit...testy, is all.” Hayley says with a sigh before she sits down on the couch next to Nicole.

“Maybe getting through one family function sober wouldn’t hurt?” Nicole whispers to Hayley.

“You know that I only drink socially, and aside from Tim’s boring office parties that happen like once a year, this is my only taste of freedom.” Hayley then pats Nicole’s thigh as she continues, “So butt out.” She leans over and smiles as she addresses Waverly. “Waverly! So nice to see you; how was Rome?”

“Oh, it was amazing. We visited so many places. The history there is absolutely breathtaking and the culture- I would move there if it were an option.” Waverly gushes.

“Mm, well, at least one of us enjoyed their honeymoon. Tim got so drunk on our wedding night that he pissed himself and slept on the floor. I only turned him over to check if he was still breathing. As you can tell, he was…” Hayley trails off, playing with her wedding ring absently.

“Don’t sound so disappointed about that, Hayley.” Nicole offers, bumping shoulders with her sister.

“Well, is that everyone, or are we still waiting on some more guests?” Judy asks, seeming desperate to change the subject.

“Oh, we’re still waiting on my aunt!” Waverly pipes up, looking around the room.

“Alright, so the games will have to wait until everyone has arrived. In the meantime, would anyone like some refreshments?”

Jamie’s only response is to loll her head back and groan wordlessly before quickly righting herself. “Actually, yeah. Got any pop?”

“Anyone _else_?” Judy says, glancing at Jamie before turning her attention to the rest of the room.

Various requests go up and Judy walks out of the room to accommodate her guests. Upon Judy’s departure, Jamie looks around the room and settles on Waverly.

“Okay, you better not be shy about that belly of yours because I am totally going in for a feel.” Jamie says, rubbing her hands together before she gets up out of her seat and walks over to kneel in front of where Waverly is sitting.

“You might not be able to feel anything. She was moving earlier, but I’m not sure she’s even awake, now.” Waverly says, still lifting up her shirt, regardless.

Jamie’s hand settles on Waverly stomach and she leans in, speaking softly, “Hey there, little baby. I don’t think you have a name yet, but I know you’re gonna be the coolest baby ever-” Jamie looks up at Waverly and then glances over at Hayley, “-I mean, aside from yours. They were really cool, too.” Jamie quickly adds, trying to appease her sister.

Waverly takes a sharp breath in and Jamie’s attention is drawn right back at her, eyes wide with wonder. “Oh, I felt that! Was that a kick?” Jamie asks, excited.

“Mm, no, actually I’m pretty sure that was a hand.” Waverly says, amused.

“Oh my god, I just got a high five from a baby that hasn’t even been born yet!” Jamie says as she taps on Waverly’s belly, “Hey there, Squirt. We are gonna be bros for life after this.”

“Jamie, are you high?” Waverly asks, sliding her shirt down again.

“What?! No!” Jamie says with a broken laugh, “I’ve just experienced the miracle of life is all!” She stands up, making a face at Waverly- a wholly unconvincing face _and_ argument.

“Uh-huh, sure; that’s totally believable.” Nicole deadpans as she rolls her eyes at Jamie.

“You know, just because _you’ve_ become unfazed by this sort of thing doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t enjoy it, _Nicole!”_ Jamie yells over her shoulder as she walks back to her seat and sits down.

“Hey, who says-” Nicole is cut off by the doorbell ringing.

“Oh, that must be Gus!” Waverly says as she perks up.

“Still not sure how you got her to agree to come today.” Wynonna whispers, leaning in towards Waverly.

A few minutes later, Judy is walking back into the living room with Gus trailing behind her.

“Everyone’s in here.” Judy says, glancing back at Gus, “I’m pretty sure you met everyone at the wedding?”

“More or less, yeah.” Gus says, looking around the room.

“Alright, well, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go bring in the drinks. You’ve been driving a while; would you like anything, Gus?” Judy asks.

“Water would be great right about now.” Gus replies, shrugging out of her coat.

Judy takes Gus’ coat and hangs it up before she heads back into the kitchen.

“So, what have I missed?” Gus asks, taking a seat.

“Apparently there was a showdown for a sandwich.” Willa offers up.

“You know, we don’t have to tell her everything, Willa.” Waverly grumbles from her seat.

“Yeah, but that one was fun for me.” Willa shoots back in reply.

“You weren’t even in the room!” Wynonna argues.

“Play nice, girls.” Gus says, though she’s smirking.

“The baby gave me a high five.” Jamie says, breaking the small silence that had settled over everyone.

Everyone looks over at Jamie, and Gus gives her a look that makes Nicole laugh. Jamie looks at Nicole, offended.

“What’s so funny?! You know she did; you were there!” Jamie then turns her attention to Waverly, “Come on, Waverly! Back me up!”

“I mean, technically you’re not wrong?” Waverly says, her statement lilting up at the end.

“See? It’s true!” Jamie says, triumphant.

“Okay, we get it. Take it down a notch... or five.” Hayley grumbles from her seat.

Jamie sticks her tongue out at Hayley, who makes a face at her youngest sister as a result.

“So where are your little demons- I mean kids?” Jamie asks, lounging in her seat.

“With their father.” Hayley answers, glaring at Jamie for the slight.

“You could have brought them, Hayley.” Nicole says, leaning over.

“I know, but the small pockets of time I can panic Tim with having to actually _be_ a father are few and far between, so I take them when I can get them.” Hayley drawls.

Judy comes back into the room, tray of drinks in hand. “Alright, I think I got everyone's requests.” She places the drinks on the coffee table and then sits down.

Conversation starts up and dies; nothing too entertaining, just the normal small talk. Everyone catching up with one another- or at least enough to be polite. Nicole is just grateful she doesn’t have to worry about the focus being on her at all; she knows everyone is going to be zeroed in on Waverly, and honestly, that’s how Nicole wants things to go today. The pregnancy has been going fine, it’s just that Waverly has started “nesting” and has decided that the entire house needs to be reorganized. Which has led to Nicole rearranging furniture, and then moving it all back to its previous place when Waverly ultimately decides that yes, it was in the right place to begin with.

Nicole doesn’t mind too much (though her back hasn’t been having the most fun ever), but she’s glad that today’s get-together is giving Waverly more people to interact with, even if half of them are her own family. It still means she gets a tiny bit of a break, and there is some guilt toppling her over for feeling relieved that she gets to sort of extract herself from Waverly for a bit. But at the same time, it has felt like _everything_ has been revolving around the baby and their rapidly approaching deadline, and Nicole just wants a small window of time where she’s allowed to breathe. Because lately, it hasn’t felt like she’s gotten much of that.

Waverly’s been good, though; trying to talk about things other than the baby, trying to ask Nicole about work, or Wynonna about the latest revenant takedown. But things always seem to circle back to the baby, and Nicole can’t exactly blame Waverly- their child is kind of squirming around inside of her at the moment, so it’s not like it’s an easy topic to lay to rest.

They did finally decide on a theme for the nursery, and that seemed to alleviate some of the anxiety eating away at Waverly.  Nicole knows Waverly likes having a plan, and likes having things set in stone where she can. They both know things will be up in the air for a good while after the birth, so the small things Waverly can grip on to with all of her might for right now seem to be a comfort. In all honesty, Nicole was just glad they finally came to a decision.

Then came registering for the baby shower, which was actually fun. They got to scan the items they needed- and some they just wanted, and it was hard to stop once they were surrounded by so much cute, but they did manage to rein themselves in. Nicole knows that putting the pricier items on their registry was a stretch, but in all honesty, that was mostly for their frame of reference. Neither of them actually expect things like a crib to be a baby shower gift.

Nicole can’t lie, though. Seeing that number climb and climb as they added things to the list was a bit overwhelming. Even if they’re not exactly hurting for money- and Nicole knows if she really needs some help that her parents would pitch in, as would Wynonna and Willa where they could- it’s still a lot to take in. Babies are expensive, and then comes even more expenses as they age. Sometimes Nicole just needs to remind herself to take it one day at a time, one need at a time.

Right now...right now, things are focused on just getting their little bean there with them. The money will come, and so will the stress. For now, Nicole just needs to remind herself that they will get through this; they are a united front.

“Okay, so for the first activity, I thought we could all decorate a onesie for the baby!” Judy says, snapping Nicole out of her thoughts.

“Just remember to keep it gender neutral!” Nicole pipes up.

“Oh, gimme gimme! I’m gonna paint a firetruck!” Jamie says, grabbing for a blank onesie.

“Jamie.” Nicole says her sister’s name as a warning.

Jamie seems unfazed, beaming back at Nicole, who knows it’s supposed to be a power play- or at least just a tactic to annoy her to no end. She also knows that she can’t even _say_ anything because it's supposed to be a nice gesture.

Well, just because Jamie makes it doesn’t mean they ever have to put the baby in the onesie. Worst case scenario is it becomes the last ditch effort when they have nothing else clean.

“Hey, Nicole, does that small town of yours even _have_ a fire station?” Jamie asks, leaning across the table for the red paint.

“Erm, yeah, but they're pretty much incompetent.” Nicole answers. It's the truth, and she's not even leaning on her bias this time.

“Hm, maybe I should go down there and show ‘em how it’s _really_ done.” Jamie says, dipping her paintbrush.

“You know you’re not even a firefighter yet, right?” Nicole asks, smirking at Jamie.

“I know that. But it won’t be too long until I am! I just have to get through school, and I am almost done. What? Don’t you want me there?” Jamie asks, blinking mock innocence at Nicole.

Nicole just rolls her eyes at her sister and look at the other women decorating onesies.

“What are you making, Willa?” Nicole asks, trying to extend some sort of olive branch. If she has to sit through another lecture of ‘Willa is trying, why can’t you?’ Nicole might scream, so she’s going to try.

“I’m painting a horse. Who knows, you might have a little cowgirl there, Waverly.” Willa answers, pointing her brush at Waverly when she says her name.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!” Waverly chirps cheerfully, though Nicole can tell it’s the tiniest bit forced.

Nicole remembers the conversation she and Waverly had in this very house about Willa being the weird horse girl, and now Nicole is certain Willa never grew out of that phase. Being kidnapped by demons in the midst of said phase and only going back home when she was in her late twenties has a lot to do with it, though so Nicole can’t exactly hold it against her.

However, that doesn’t mean she has to like it.

When all's said and done, there are onesies decorated with a firetruck from Jamie, a horse from Willa, a large smiling sun (underneath said sun, it says, “you are my sunshine”) from Judy, one detailing that aunt Wynonna is the best aunt ever (and a smudge of various colors that is supposed to be Wynonna’s face) from guess who, and polka dots in various colors from Hayley. Gus went the route of drawing arrows pointing to the top and arms, legs, and even the snaps of the onesie (all correctly labelled), detailing that Nicole can do this, which got a laugh from everyone.

Nicole can only hope there is something police themed waiting in the bags and boxes set up on the other table. She knows she’s likely to find such an item in the bag that Nedley awkwardly handed her the other day before she left the station, but she doesn’t know for sure what is actually in it because Waverly refused to let her open it before the baby shower. Luckily, she only had to wait a day, but seeing the crudely painted firetruck drying on that onesie has her itching to open presents now.

As it stands, there are other activities to be done and games to be played.

After Waverly opts out of everyone tying a string around her belly (and instead has everyone compare their measurement to the string she took that accurately measures her), Nicole thinks this would all be a bit more fun if those who are allowed to drink otherwise could indulge. She's lamenting this fact as she walks out of the bathroom and down the hallway back to the living room where everyone else is. Just as she closes the bathroom door behind her, she sees Wynonna duck into the nearest guest room.

There is no way in Hell Nicole is not following after her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Nicole says as she enters the room.

Wynonna jumps about three feet, spilling the contents of her flask the _tiniest_ bit.

“God damn it, you scared the shit out of me!” Wynonna hisses, fumbling to hide the flask in her hand.

“Well, maybe you wouldn’t be so jumpy if you weren’t sneaking off to drink!” Nicole shoots back in reply.

“Oh, come on. Like you can really get through this thing stone cold sober.” Wynonna says with a roll of her eyes, not bothering to hide the flask anymore.

“Hey guys, what’re we doing in here?” Jamie pipes up from behind Nicole, causing her to jump this time.

“Motherfucker!” Nicole yelps, turning around to face her younger sister, “What are you-”

“Oh, sweet! Booze!” Jamie chirps as she notices the flask in Wynonna’s hand and makes a ‘fork it over’ motion with her hand, “Sharing is caring, sister-in-law.”

“Do you even remember my name?” Wynonna asks, holding the flask to her chest, cocking an eyebrow at Jamie.

“Of course I do!” Jamie says, forcing laughter as she pauses, “It’s-” More pausing, “Wynonna!” Jamie finally says, snapping her fingers.

“Good job, kid.” Wynonna deadpans.

“Hey, your family has a weird preoccupation with W names. That is not my fault; It gets confusing!” Jamie pleads, still staring at Wynonna’s flask.

“I don’t know, I’ve done a lot of illegal things in my life- that I will never admit to beyond that.” Wynonna says, looking at Nicole now, “But handing alcohol over to an underage drinker in front of a police officer... that’s a new low, even for me.” Wynonna barely pauses before she shrugs and then hands the flask over to Jamie.

Nicole intercepts before Jamie can really get a hold of it.

“Uh-uh, _little_ sister!” Nicole says as she snatches the flask from Jamie’s hand.

“Oh, come on!” Jamie pouts.

Nicole just grins as she takes a swig from the flask. It’s been awhile since she last drank, and she wasn’t expecting whiskey for some reason, but finds herself drinking it all the same.

“Oh god.” Nicole groans as she holds the flask out and Jamie grabs for it.

“What? Forgot how to handle your hooch, Haught?” Wynonna asks, grinning.

“Forgot your taste for the cheap shit.” Nicole replies with a smirk.

“Beggars can’t be choosers.” Wynonna says, plucking the flask from Jamie’s hand and taking another swig.

“Ugh, if I could just get into Dad’s stash, I would show you what whiskey is _supposed_ to taste like!” Nicole grumbles, wishing she could just sneak into her father’s study like she used to in high school.

But very rarely, of course.

“Says the girl who was once named after a fucking whiskey brand!” Jamie says, pushing Nicole lightly.

“Says the girl _currently_ named after a fucking whiskey brand!” Nicole shoots back in reply.

“At least it isn’t Jack fucking Daniels!” Jamie counters.

“Fucking. Rude. Just for that, I am taking your turn.” Nicole says, grabbing the flask and taking two swigs.

“Jesus, what is wrong with your family?” Wynonna asks, taking the flask back when Nicole offers it.

“How long do you have?” Jamie deadpans.

“Shit, that’s right, we need to get back out there. It’s not like Waverly won’t notice we’re gone!” Nicole says, panic creeping into her voice.

“Wait, wait! Here,” Wynonna says, pulling Nicole back and holding her hand out, “Pop two of these, first.”

Wynonna drops two mints in Nicole hand and Nicole looks back up at her in awe. She briefly considers the merits of pulling Wynonna in for a kiss, just out of gratitude, but she thinks better of it. Knowing her luck, Waverly would walk in here the minute that happened, and then Nicole would have to explain herself. There would be no way the outcome could ever be worth the risk. So, Wynonna misses out on the best kiss of her life, but it’s no true loss for Nicole- she already got herself the best Earp sister of the bunch.

“You are a _lifesaver!”_ Nicole says, popping the mints into her mouth.

“Remember this moment next time you pull my boyfriend over for speeding.” Wynonna says with a wink.

“Which one?” Nicole asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Either... both.” Wynonna says with a shrug.

Nicole can’t help but laugh at the utterly confused look on Jamie’s face before she leaves the bedroom and heads for the living room.

* * *

 There are a few more games and activities that go on for a while. Nicole can’t help but feel the air of the party has shifted, though. Waverly hasn’t said anything but things feel far more tense than they did before Nicole escaped for the bathroom.

Nicole is debating whether or not to pull Waverly aside and actually talk to her when everyone’s attention is drawn to the front of the house as none other than Greg walks into the living room. This was just what Nicole needed when things seem to have gotten tense already: her father showing up unannounced.

Granted, it is his own home, so Nicole supposes she can’t actually be too annoyed by this development- but still, she is.

“Sorry, sorry, I’ll just be a minute. I’m going to grab something from the kitchen and then head into my study. You girls won’t even know I’m here!” Greg says, holding his hands out in surrender as he ducks into the kitchen.

There’s a slight pause as everyone looks around at one another, seemingly all debating how to take this change of events, but Nicole doesn’t get very far in her thoughts before her father is calling her into the kitchen.

Nicole glances over at Waverly before she heads into the other room to see what her father needs.

“Yeah?” Nicole asks, walking into the kitchen to find her dad popping the top off of a beer.

“Sorry, Kiddo. Didn’t mean to bust up your party.” Greg says before taking a sip of his beer.

Nicole can’t help but flashback to her childhood and this very conversation happening a few times at Nicole’s birthday parties. It isn’t as horrific for her now as it was back then, whenever Greg popped his head in to ‘check in’ on how everyone was doing. She felt like she might die from sheer embarrassment back then. Now, she just feels agitated. If this was all he wanted, he could have waited, or just let the blanket apology from earlier stand. Instead, he called her in here, and-

“Want one?” Greg offers, tipping the neck of the beer bottle towards Nicole as he asks, “You keep staring at it as if you’re dying of thirst.” Greg gives a soft laugh and then clears his throat, pointing with two fingers not wrapped around the neck of the bottle, “Go get yourself one. You’re definitely old enough, now. And this time, you don’t even have to sneak it out of my cabinet.”

Nicole can feel her cheeks reddening as she turns towards the fridge and grabs herself a beer. Her father takes it from her hands briefly as he pops the top off, the cap clinking against the countertop as it falls.

Soon, it's back in her hand and she's taking a sip. She's not even a huge fan of beer, but after the drought she's been in, she’ll take anything offered- even cheap whiskey in a flask and imported beer from her father.

“I see you went German this time.” Nicole notes as she lowers the bottle, fingers still wrapped around the neck.

“Yeah, thought I’d mix it up a bit for a change. Besides, the Germans make a mean beer.”

“Though your first love will always be Belgium, I know.” Nicole says the line with a mixture of fondness and overuse.

Greg has been known to wax lyrical about beer over the years- especially Belgian beer- and how it ‘shaped him as a man’. Yeah, the beer and stealing it from under his father’s nose really shaped him, alright.

“What? Have I told you that before?” Greg asks with a smile.

“Maybe once or twice.” Nicole says, taking another sip.

A silence stretches over them as they both stand there, glancing at each other and then looking anywhere but at each other. Nicole is grateful for the beer in her hand giving her something else to focus on, even if it doesn’t provide too much entertainment. Peeling the label off is always a go-to, and Nicole has started to employ it when her father breaks their silence.

“How far along is she?” Greg asks, his voice seeming louder to Nicole as it bounces off the various surfaces of the kitchen.

“Seven months.” Nicole replies easily.

“Mm, yeah, I remember when your mother was that far along with you. Couldn’t keep her hands off me!” Greg laughs at his own joke.

“Oh god, _Dad!_ I did not need to _ever_ know that!” Nicole says, stepping the slightest bit back from her father.

“What? It's true! Of course, by that point, I was running around feeling like a chicken with my head cut off.” Greg recounts with a sigh.

Nicole can definitely relate to that feeling. These past few months have felt suffocating, and Nicole has powered through it so far, but she’s not sure how much more she can really take before she cracks under the pressure.

“How'd you deal with it?” Nicole asks, hoping she sounds nonchalant, even though she feels the farthest from it.

“I didn’t, really. At that point, there was Hayley, Kevin, and Grayson to take up my time. Everything’s pretty much a hazy blur, now. But you just kind of learn to manage, Kiddo. It's not like you have much of a choice.” Greg says with a nod before he takes another sip of his beer.

“Yeah.” Nicole says absently.

She was sort of hoping beyond all reason that her dad would actually have some sort of secret to this entire thing. Some little nugget of wisdom squirreled away in his back pocket that would neatly tie all of this chaos together. Of course, things could never be that easy.

Another bout of silence stretches over them and Nicole glances at the doorway, wondering if she could politely duck out now if her father really doesn’t have anything else to say to her. But then she remembers the beer in her hand and thinks better of it- at least for the time being.

“So, how’s work?” Greg asks, breaking their silence again.

“Good,” Nicole answers, pausing momentarily before continuing, “Nedley seems impressed with me and I’m getting more cases coming my way... when we have them.”

“It’s the Haught blood in you. We’ve got a knack for this police stuff!” Greg says, grinning, “Don’t know where we went wrong with Jamie. I swear, she does these things just to get under my skin.” He mutters that last part, and Nicole wonders if he’s talking more to himself than her at this point.

“Come on, Chief. It can’t be that bad.” Nicole says, bumping shoulders with her father.

There’s a fondness in his expression now that wasn’t there a second ago. Nicole knows that it’s due to the nickname- which isn’t much of a nickname. He actually _was_ the police chief for as long as Nicole could remember, up until about a year ago. But that affection isn’t there because of the job, it’s there because of Nicole’s childhood.

She used to play cops and robbers and drag her dad along with her, insisting he sit down at the hand-me-down play table with it’s too-small, colored-on plastic chairs, and be her chief. He always complied, no matter that sometimes Nicole would drag him straight from the doorway when he got off duty. He would write her ‘case files’ and she would write him ‘reports’ once her intended bad guys were captured. She remembers hugging him tight as she called him the best police chief/daddy ever, and how he would say she was the best little deputy ever- but reminded her to not let the guys at the station know because they might get jealous.  

Her childhood wasn’t all bad. It wasn’t all complicated and stressful. For a small pocket of time, things were actually good, they had a relationship. The issues came when Greg couldn’t ignore things any longer, and Nicole became even more adamant about things her father refused to see.

Things fell apart so hard, and they both know they’ve been fractured ever since.

“Well, thanks for the beer, but I think I’m gonna head back in there.” Nicole says, placing the beer bottle down on the counter and heading for the doorway.

“Nicole, wait.” Greg calls after her before she can actually cross the threshold.

“Yeah?” Nicole says, turning back to look at her dad.

He suddenly looks so old to her. It’s like she’s seeing him for himself for the first time. He looks more weathered than she remembers. He looks tired, and apologetic, and human. He is no longer the superhero from her childhood, he’s just a guy standing in his kitchen with a beer in his hand, and suddenly Nicole’s stomach drops because this is all too real.

“I just…” Greg looks down at the label of his beer and starts picking at it before bringing his eyes back up to Nicole, “Look, I called you in here because I wanted to talk, and not about work or beer. I- there are things I know I’ve needed to say to you, I’m just not too good with words.”

“Trying would help.” Nicole snaps.

She didn’t realize she was mad until the words were out of her mouth, but suddenly there is this anger blooming in her chest and it feels overwhelming. The memories come back; the fumbling, the fuck-ups, the complete dismissal of her gender on her father’s part. Nicole wants to hold him accountable, for once, because he’s giving her an opening.

“I know...that’s what I’m trying to do.” Greg finally responds, voice soft, almost hesitant.

Nicole doesn’t respond, she just gives him the space to say something else, knowing that’s the whole point. She can only hope this time around that he thinks before he speaks.

“I know I’ve been screwing everything up, but I have been trying- I know that doesn’t really count for shit right now, but I have.” Greg says.

He’s looking at her, still but his fingers are picking at the label of his beer bottle, blindly. There is a part of her that wants to just show him mercy and brush this all aside, but there is a much larger part of her that needs him to own up to his shit.

“It hasn’t been easy, understanding all of this. Trying to understand you and- maybe I’m too late. Maybe I lost my shot when you were a kid, I don’t know.” Greg sighs and pauses before continuing, “I can’t go back and fix my mistakes, but can you just- Can you just help me out? I don’t know what’s right or wrong here, I only know when I piss you off, Nicole. I know when I shove my foot in my mouth, the issue is that I only get it _after_ the fact. I just- this is still _really_ new for me.”

Nicole just stands there for a few seconds, trying to absorb everything her dad just said. It’s more than she ever expected from him.

She clears her throat before she speaks, “Y-yeah, I can do that.”

“I really do love you, Kiddo.” Greg says, opening his arms out for a hug.

Nicole folds into her father, hugging him tightly. Suddenly, she’s five years old again and her father is that larger than life superhero. The moment doesn’t last long, but it’s enough. It’s a start, at the very least, and Nicole was almost certain she wasn’t ever going to get as much. Soon her dad is patting her on the back and pushing her lightly out of the kitchen and back to the party.

“You’ll be fine, Nicole; you’re just like your mother.”

Nicole looks back at her dad, smiling when she replies, “No, I’m not. I’m just like you, Chief.”

* * *

The party has all but died out, now with wrapping paper still scattered around Waverly’s spot on the couch.

They actually got a better haul than anticipated. Most notably, Gus has paid for a crib, which is waiting to be picked up by them at a Babies R Us in Fort Collins. Judy and Greg got them a carseat that apparently will last them up to ten years, as well as a custom-made stroller with an iPod dock that Waverly literally squealed over. Jamie got them a baby swing, decorated with a jungle theme- the exact theme they settled on for the nursery. Hayley got Waverly a breast pump, insisting that it was an absolute lifesaver for her, and that she made sure to get the best one she could find. Wynonna gave them a Boppy- a pillow specifically designed for breastfeeding- in the same jungle theme as the swing. Surprisingly. Willa gave them a baby carrier, which Nicole intends to use at every given opportunity.

Finally came the gifts from the Nedleys, with Chrissy giving them a ton of burp cloths in various colors, and the sheriff giving them two things: one wooden police badge rattle that he whittled himself, and a pacifier clip with a gold felt “police” badge as the clip. Both Chrissy and her father signed the card, taking Waverly off-guard seeing the name Randy in looping cursive instead of just his last name.

Finally, they’re all packed up and have said their goodbyes. Wynonna is on the phone, trying to track down the boys before Nicole and Waverly pass them to get to the truck. Nicole has packed everything up and heads round to the driver’s side, only to find one very pissed-off Waverly staring at her.

“What? What’s wrong?” Nicole asks, confused.

“You’re not driving.” Waverly states, voice clearly agitated.

“What? Why not? You’re not driving the 3 hours back to Purgatory in your condition!” Nicole says, defensive now.

“You’ve been drinking. Isn’t that right, Nicole? That _one_ thing I asked you to not do today?!” Waverly says, snatching the keys from Nicole’s hands before Nicole can do anything to stop her.

“I just had a beer with my dad, okay? I’m fine! It was just one beer!” Nicole replies.

“And before that? When you snuck off with Wynonna?” Waverly asks, not waiting for a reply before she unlocks the truck and climbs into the driver’s side.

Nicole follows after her, holding the door open as she replies, “I didn’t sneak off, I went to the bathroom!”

“For thirty minutes, and then you suddenly come back with minty fresh breath? I work at a bar, Nicole. I know what someone trying to hide the alcohol on their breath fucking looks like.” Waverly bites out.

Nicole doesn’t even have time to reply before Waverly is sucking in another breath and then speaking again, words harsh.

“Now get your hand off the door, or I will slam it when I shut it.”

Nicole complies, knowing better than to call Waverly’s bluff at this point.

She climbs into the passenger side of the truck, the engine already revved up. She drops into the seat and buckles her seatbelt before Waverly pulls out of the driveway and heads back on the long drive towards Purgatory.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole tries, breaking the stiff silence hanging between them.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Waverly bites out.

“I know you didn’t want me to drink, but-” Nicole only gets that far before Waverly cuts her off.

“I _said,_ I don’t want to talk about it.”

That effectively shuts conversation down for a good while. Nicole can’t help but reach over towards the radio dial, switching stations once the Denver ones fade out completely. Waverly does not accept her olive branch.

“Look at the list.” Waverly finally says, breaking their suffocating silence.

“What?” Nicole asks, confused.

“In the glove compartment, there’s a list of baby supplies we need. I _was_ going to cross off what we got today and see what we still need to get, but since you’re the one sitting there,” Waverly glances over at her before continuing, “You can do it.”

“Of _course_ . If _you_ planned it, then it _has_ to get done.” Nicole grumbles in reply as she gets the list out of the glove compartment, slamming it shut with a bit more force than necessary.

Waverly doesn’t say anything, and they continue to sit in silence for a while as Nicole goes over the list of supplies and crossing off what they already have. She’s trying to get a rough estimate of what this is going to cost them, and that’s only making her bad mood worse.

“You know, we don’t really need a changing table. We can just get a changing pad and change her on the dresser.”

No response.

“Oh, come on, Waverly. Will you just talk to me?!” Nicole yells, annoyed.

“Oh, we will _definitely_ be talking when we get home. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.” Waverly says, voice eerily calm and even.

The ride home is excruciating with tense silence hanging between them the whole while. Nicole just wants to get out of the truck and almost doesn’t wait for Waverly to turn the engine off before she’s unbuckling her seatbelt and turning towards her wife.

“Okay, we’re home. Let’s talk, already.”

“We have stuff to bring in.” Waverly says, unbuckling her seatbelt and looking back at the gifts in the backseat.

“Fuck the stuff!” Nicole growls, “It doesn’t matter. I’m sick of you shutting me out; talk to me!”

She doesn’t care that she’s pushing Waverly on this. Sure, she fucked up today, but one day isn’t even that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Besides, she didn’t even do anything that bad- it’s not like she ran off and got shit-faced or something!

“I’m not doing this right now. Grab the gifts or don’t, I don’t care.” Waverly says, opening the door and slowly climbing out of the truck.

Nicole actually ends up bringing all of the gifts in the house, if just to get some more time away from Waverly. Clearly, she isn’t in the mood to talk, or fight, or do much of anything but throw dirty looks Nicole’s way.

And that’s just fine with Nicole.

Just fucking _fine_.

“You wanna talk? Fine, start explain why you thought it was okay to go sneak off and drink.” Waverly says, walking up to Nicole in the living room after she’s brought the last of the gifts into the house.

“It wasn’t like I _planned_ it, Waves! It just sort of happened.”

Waverly scoffs at that.

“It did! I was coming back from the bathroom and then I saw Wynonna duck into one of the spare bedrooms, so I followed her, mainly to just see what the hell she was up to. Turned out she had a flask!” Nicole knows her voice is getting louder, but she doesn’t care. Waverly started out hostile, so she’s just matching her for it.

“Oh, great. Now you’re blaming _my sister_ for your actions!” Waverly says, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands up in the air before she looks back at Nicole, thoroughly unamused.

“No, I’m just telling you what happened! I drank, okay? It was dumb, but it wasn’t even really enough to get me buzzed- you can ask Jamie.” Nicole says in her defense.

“So Jamie was there, too? Was being around me so _awful_ that you all had to sneak out and drink?!” Waverly says before going and sitting down on the couch.

“What? No! Where did you even get that idea?” Nicole says, rounding on Waverly where she sits.

“Oh, I don’t know, Nicole. Possibly three of my guests sneaking out of my _baby shower_ could have something to do with it. One of them being my sister and the other my _wife_!”

“You’re taking this all out of context!” Nicole yells, frustrated.

 _"You_ can’t stand to be around me!” Waverly shouts back, arms crossed over her chest.

“What are you even talking about?!” Nicole counters.

“I see how you roll your eyes. I see how your shoulders slump when you walk through that door at the end of the day; I’m not stupid, Nicole! It’s obvious you don’t want to be near me!” Waverly says, voice wavering the slightest bit.

“I just don’t want to constantly talk about the baby, okay?! That’s the big fucking secret! _Everything_ we talk about always goes back to the baby! We haven’t even gotten to just be us for two fucking seconds!” Nicole says, turning away from Waverly.

“What?” Waverly says, voice at a normal volume, “That’s not true! It’s just us _right now_!” She counters.

“No, it’s not! There hasn’t been a single conversation in months between us that didn’t end up revolving around the baby!” Nicole says, turning back to face Waverly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry for wanting to talk about _your_ child growing inside of my fucking body! I’m sorry it always loops back to our daughter! I am _so fucking sorry_ I can’t take too much time out of my busy schedule of running a business _and_ being punched and kicked from the _inside out,_ to talk about what Nedley did at the station today!”

“So I’m not allowed to have feeling or opinions, anymore and my days don’t matter? Am I just set dressing to you, Waverly? Are we just playing house?!”

“Did you seriously just say that to me?!”

“Pretty sure you heard me, but yeah, Waverly. I did. And your lack of an answer does not instill confidence!”

“Fuck. _You.”_

There’s a pause, and neither of them are brave enough to talk, or move, or do anything. They’re just there in that moment, and Nicole wants desperately to get them out of it, but she only sees them digging themselves in deeper.

There’s no easy way out.

“We’re not just playing house, and if you really think that’s all this is, then I don’t- I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be around you right now.” Waverly says, voice cracking.

“I don’t- Waverly, I don’t think that, but like I said, we haven’t even gotten to be us! I just- I just wanted something I don’t think I’m ever going to have…” Nicole trails off.

“Well, I’m sorry I’ve ruined your life!” Waverly says as the dam breaks and she starts to cry.

“What?” Nicole asks, getting down on her knees, hands going to Waverly’s thighs, sliding up and down in what Nicole can only hope is a comforting motion, “You haven’t ruined my life! You’re the best thing about my life! You and this baby, you’re the best things about anything, ever, I couldn’t even dream of a moment without the two of you. I- fuck, I am so sorry, Baby. I am so sorry.”

“I just don’t wanna be like them!” Waverly sobs.

“Like who?” Nicole asks, confused as she gets up on the couch and sits next to Waverly.

Waverly folds into her the moment she’s settled, and Nicole at least takes comfort in that fact. She slides her hand up and down Waverly’s back as she waits for Waverly to calm down enough to give a proper reply. There have been a few false starts, but finally Waverly picks her head up and replies to Nicole’s question.

“Hayley and Tim,” Waverly says with a sniffle, “I don’t want to hate you and have to force you to be a parent and just end up being miserable.”

Nicole hates how lost Waverly sounds and she wants to do whatever it takes to fix this. She keeps sliding her hand up and down Waverly’s back as she tries to find the best words to calm Waverly’s fears.

“Don’t let Hayley get to you. I know she makes things sound awful, but she just likes riling everyone up. That doesn’t mean we’re going to end up like them.” Nicole says, kissing Waverly’s forehead.

“We’re already fighting and we’ve only been married a couple of months…” Waverly trails off, not meeting Nicole’s gaze.

“Well, they say the first year of marriage is the hardest, and most people don’t jump into it with a baby on the way. I’m in this, Waves. One hundred percent. I’m not going anywhere; you’ve got me,” Nicole smiles at Waverly before leaning down slightly and kissing her softly on the lips. Nicole’s hand rests on Waverly’s stomach as she finishes, “You both got me.”

“Promise?” Waverly asks, searching Nicole’s face as she waits for an answer,

“I swear. But you’ve gotta stick around, too. Deal?” Nicole asks, eyebrows raised.

“Of course- I wouldn’t have married you otherwise.” Waverly says, giving Nicole a watery smile.

“You, too. You’re not allowed to go anywhere, either. Ya hear me, little girl?” Nicole says, leaning down and talking to Waverly’s belly.

Nicole takes the responding kick as agreement.

They sit cuddled up on the couch for a while until Waverly starts snoring softly and Nicole’s arm has gone completely numb. Eventually, Nicole manages to extract her arm from underneath Waverly and get feeling back into it, but she still can’t bring herself to wake Waverly, or even move from her spot on the couch. Not yet, at least.

Things aren’t always the greatest between them, and clearly they need to work on their communication skills, but at least Nicole knows for certain that Waverly is in this, and that’s enough to get them through this rough patch and further. Nicole isn’t deluding herself, though. She knows they need to get better at all of this, they need to find their footing as a couple. But they also don’t have much time to do as much, which just means doubling their efforts before their daughter actually enters the picture.

Nicole could never forgive herself if she brought her child into a hostile environment, intentional or not. Besides, she is fully aware that Waverly can’t handle much more stress, and the need to quit working for a while once her due date gets closer and closer will only make Waverly more restless.

So, Nicole needs to get her head out of her ass. it’s as simple as that, and she is determined to do as much for her little family because they deserve the absolute best that Nicole can give them.

Nicole finally relents and picks Waverly up carefully, carrying her to the bedroom and laying her down gently on the bed. She knows that Waverly probably won’t stay asleep for much longer before she’s shoving Nicole awake, trying to steal all the pillows in the house for herself, but for now, her wife looks peaceful, and that’s all Nicole can really ask for.

“Sweet dreams, my sweet girls.” Nicole whispers as she rubs Waverly’s belly.


	9. Chapter 9

“A little to the left,” Waverly says, rocking gently in their new rocking chair, “No, wait! A little to the right.”

“Ugh, will you just make up your mind? This is the third time we’ve moved this!” Wynonna groans as she and Nicole move the changing table’s position, again.

“I have a vision and-” Waverly gets cut off there.

“Well have a less specific vision.” Wynonna snaps.

“You offered to help today, Wynonna.” Waverly reminds her, voice on edge.

“Yeah, well, I thought I would be painting or something. Not doing the heavy lifting.” Wynonna grumbles, leaning on the changing table now that it’s settled where Waverly instructed.

“You could call Dolls in here to take your place.” Nicole suggests, looking over at Wynonna. “I’m sure he’d love to help.”

“Sounds damn good to me!” Wynonna says, smacking her hands down on the top of the changing table before lifting herself off of it and leaving the room to find Dolls.

“How you doin’ over there?” Nicole asks as she walks over to where Waverly is sitting.

“She keeps squirming around, but my pesky internal organs seem to-” Waverly cuts herself off as she takes a sharp breath in before slowly releasing it, “-be getting in the way, apparently.”

“She’s just excited about everyone being together.” Nicole offers up with a sympathetic smile.

“I wish she would be excited in a less-painful-for-Mommy kind of way.” Waverly mutters, hand rubbing over her belly trying to possibly calm the chaos in her body.

“Well, she’ll be here soon enough.” Nicole says, leaning down and kissing the top of Waverly’s head

“Thank goodness for that because I’m not sure I can take too much more of this.” Waverly sighs, exhausted as another kick hits the wall of her stomach.

“Oh, I saw that one.” Nicole says with a slight wince.

“I told you, she gets excited when she hears your voice.” Waverly says, looking up at Nicole.

“Hi there, little one.” Nicole says, leaning down and rubbing Waverly’s belly.

“Yes, just exacerbate the problem.” Waverly sighs, but she's smiling when she says it.

“Shh, we’re bonding.” Nicole whispers before glancing up at Waverly.

Their attention goes to the doorway of the nursery as Dolls clears his throat. Not surprisingly, it seems Wynonna recruited both of her boyfriends to take her place instead of just one.

“Not to interrupt, but we’re here to help.” Dolls says, looking a bit guilty because they have interrupted, regardless.

“Come on in, boys and join the party!” Nicole says, straightening up.

“How are you feelin’?” Doc asks, walking up to Waverly.

“I ache everywhere, I haven’t seen my own two feet for weeks, _and_ I feel like I’m about to pop. But otherwise, I’m good.” Waverly says with a worn out smile.

She knows Doc meant well by the inquiry and isn’t mad, just tired. Sleeping now is an adventure, given that she has had to start sleeping propped up into a sitting position. It gets the job done, but it's not exactly the more restful situation.

Not to mention that it makes just going to bed that much more of a production. Nicole ends up positioning the pillows all around her, and they finally caved a while ago and bought Waverly her own set of them so she wouldn’t have to keep stealing Nicole’s. Nicole drew the line at a body pillow, though, stating that Waverly had more than enough pillows strictly for herself at that point.

“I think I’ll start assembling the crib while these two knuckleheads continue to move what furniture we _do_ have to your heart’s content.” Nicole says, walking back over to Waverly.

“Okay, but stay close?” Waverly says, grabbing Nicole's hand.

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.” Nicole says with a smile before she lets go of Waverly’s hand and walks over to the box containing the crib still in desperate need of assembly. “Besides, I don’t want to lug this thing all around the house once it’s put together.” She adds, turning back towards Waverly.

Waverly only has Doc and Dolls move the changing table one more time before being fully satisfied that it’s in its proper place. Then they all start helping set up the crib when it proves to not be as easy of a task as the instructions make it out to be.

“This is _impossible_!” Nicole groans, shaking the instructions in her frustration.

“I think you need a break.” Waverly offers up, looking on sympathetically at her wife.

“I think I need to throw this damn pile of wood into a fire.” Nicole grumbles, glaring at the crib parts. “We could always co-sleep?” She asks, looking up at Waverly, desperate.

Waverly glares at Nicole as she answers, “Do you want a child with severe attachment issues?”

Nicole opens her mouth to respond, but Waverly cuts her off there.

“Do you ever want to get laid again?”

Nicole closes her mouth without saying a word, shoves the instructions into Doc’s hands, and then gets up from her seat on the floor.

“Break time?” Waverly asks with a smirk as Nicole walks over to her, offering her hand.

It takes a bit of effort, and a bit of help from Nicole, but finally Waverly is up out of the rocking chair and vertical, which she counts as a definite victory in her book.

“Don’t look so smug.” Nicole grumbles.

“She can’t help it, it's her natural state of being, lately.” Wynonna cuts in, leaning against the door jamb.

“And where did _you_ sneak off to, leaving your poor, devoted boyfriends to pick up all of your slack?” Waverly asks, glaring at Wynonna.

“I had things to do.” Wynonna says, easily and vaguely.

“Like?” Waverly asks, walking over to Wynonna, sizing her up.

Wynonna opens her mouth to answer, but is cut off by Willa walking up next to her.

“Oh look, there’s Willa! Wynonna, since you’re all done with whatever it was you were doing, can you can help Willa with baby-proofing the rest of the house?” Waverly offers up.

“What? Who said I was done?!” Wynonna argues.

“ _I did_.” Waverly bites out, daring Wynonna to question her.

“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Willa says, tugging on Wynonna’s arm to lead her out of the room.

Wynonna drags along, pausing in the doorway to word, ‘help me’ at everyone currently in the nursery.

No one moves to help her as she walks out of view.

“Okay, so let's all just take a break for a while. Sound good?” Waverly says, looking at Doc and Dolls.

“Sounds like a plan.” Doc agrees, getting up and clapping his hands together. “I think I’ll go see how Wynonna is doing.”

“You mean you’re going to go watch how miserable she is and then not lift a finger to help.” Dolls corrects, getting up from the floor as well.

Doc looks over at him and smiles, “No, that’s what _we’re_ going to do.”

Doc and Dolls walk out of the room and Waverly watches as they go, eyes trailing after them.

Waverly’s attention goes to Nicole the moment they’re in the room alone together. It’s when Nicole bends over to pick up the instructions that a thought hits her: Nicole is all hers. They’re actually married and Nicole is her _wife._ There is a plethora of possibilities laid out before them, but the only thing Waverly can find herself noting is just how good Nicole’s ass looks in her jeans at the current moment.

“I am so sick of reading about how rod A goes into slot B.” Nicole grumbles, running a hand through her hair before she looks over at Waverly.

Waverly is a strong woman. She has years under her belt of keeping her shit together. Right now, though she’s absolutely weak in the knees for the woman standing before her; the gorgeous woman who is all hers.

“You could put your rod into my slot.” Waverly mutters to herself.

“What?” Nicole asks, looking puzzled.

“Nothing!” Waverly quips before grabbing Nicole’s hand and leading her out of the nursery, “Come on, let’s go.”

“And where exactly are we going?” Nicole asks, trailing after Waverly as she is led down the hall.

It might have been only seconds, but Waverly took the time to think through all of her options. The easiest one, of course, would have been to stay in the nursery, but that felt like a violation of sorts. The things she hopes to do in a matter of minutes should never be associated with their daughter’s bedroom.

No, this moment is solely for them. That is, if she can get Nicole to cooperate- though she doesn’t see that being too much of a problem. She steps over the threshold of their bedroom and pulls Nicole in behind her. The moment the door closes behind them, Waverly is pushing Nicole back, kissing her fiercely.

“What are you doing?” Nicole asks between kisses.

“I thought that was obvious.” Waverly replies, sliding her hand underneath Nicole’s shirt.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down.” Nicole whispers, pulling back.

“I don’t wanna slow down, I want you to fuck me, Baby. I need you.” Waverly replies, pulling Nicole's hand under her dress between her thighs.

Waverly can’t help but smirk when Nicole groans as her fingers slide over Waverly’s panties, the thin fabric no match for Waverly’s arousal.

“Feel how wet I am for you, Baby? Come on, fuck me.” Waverly says before pulling Nicole down for a kiss.

Nicole kisses her back and then slides her fingers in fast circles over Waverly’s clit. Waverly pushes her hips into Nicole’s fingers, trying to gain even more friction.

“You have to be quiet.” Nicole warns, kissing Waverly's reply right out of her mouth.

She just hopes Nicole keeps doing exactly what she's doing. Of course, the moment the thought crosses her mind, Nicole pulls her hand back. Thankfully, she just ends up sliding her hand underneath the waistband of Waverly’s panties, her fingers sliding over Waverly’s clit with renewed vigor.

“Keep doing that.” Waverly moans into Nicole’s mouth.

Nicole does.

Waverly can feel herself riding that edge now. One thing she’s noticed since getting pregnant is that her orgasms seem to be easier to obtain. But it’s not like she's ever going to complain about that new development, and she doesn’t foresee it being a problem for Nicole, either.

Besides, given that they don’t have much time at all before someone starts looking for them, it’s best this happen as quickly as possible.

Waverly nails dig into Nicole’s shoulders as she rides Nicole's fingers to orgasm.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, I’m gonna come!” Waverly seethes in a harsh whisper right before her body clenches.

She keeps her hips moving, trying to gain more contact, even though she’s overstimulated. She's not sated in the least, and thankfully, Nicole doesn’t pull back. In fact, her fingers slide a little further down and then she’s inside Waverly, and Waverly just wants _more_.

“More, Baby. Fuck me, fuck me, God, I need you to fuck me.” Waverly practically whines as she keeps riding Nicole’s fingers.

Nicole finds just the right spot as her thumb slides over Waverly’s clit and it doesn’t take too long before Waverly’s coming again, kissing Nicole roughly to keep from screaming this time. It only sort of works as a means to silence her. Instead, she just ends up moaning her orgasm into Nicole’s mouth as her hips finally still. She's sure she could ride out yet another orgasm with little trouble, but they don’t exactly have time for that, even if her body is begging for the opportunity.

They stand there, Waverly’s body weight fully supported by Nicole as she just tries to get her bearings. Soon enough, she’s pushing off of Nicole and leaning up to kiss her before pulling back completely.

“Okay, time to get back out there!” She chirps.

“Um, about that…” Nicole says, trailing off as she looks down.

Waverly’s eyes follow Nicole’s, only to find Nicole’s erection straining against her jeans.

“Oh...oh!” Waverly hums before she leans back into Nicole, her hand trailing down Nicole’s body to cup her through her jeans. “Looks like you have a bit of a problem, there.”

Nicole just nods before closing her eyes and pushing her hips into Waverly’s hand.

“I’m pretty sure you can take care of that yourself, right?” Waverly hums.

“Wait, what?” Nicole questions, eyes opening as she looks down at Waverly.

“Well, we both can’t be gone for too long. They’ll know something is up and I don’t want to hear any jokes from Wynonna about our sex life!” Waverly argues.

“I mean, yeah, I guess…” Nicole says, pouting.

“Oh, stop it, you big baby” Waverly says, swatting at Nicole’s chest lightly before continuing, “Who knows, if you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get laid tonight after everyone leaves. It _is_ date night, after all.” Waverly finishes with a smirk.

Nicole opens her mouth to reply, but Waverly cuts in.

“And no, that does not mean you can rush them all out the door. We still have a long way to go with that nursery.” Waverly says, pushing off of Nicole and standing in front of her.

“Now, go take care of that.” Waverly motions to Nicole’s erection, “And then meet me back in the nursery. I need you to finish that crib because we are not co-sleeping under any circumstances.”

“But it increases bonding with the baby!” Nicole half-heartedly argues.

“It also increases the risk of SIDS.”

“Okay, that’s a boner killer.” Nicole deadpans.

“It better be.” Waverly says before trying to move past Nicole, “Now move so I can at least go out there. Decide what you’re gonna do.”

“As you wish.” Nicole says, pushing off the door and moving past Waverly.

Waverly walks over the threshold of the door before Nicole grabs her wrist and pulls her back. She yelps in surprise as Nicole turns her around and kisses her before pulling back and slapping her ass.

“I couldn’t help myself.” Nicole says with a stupid grin.

“You’re so lucky you’re cute.” Waverly huffs before turning around and walking down the hallway, putting a bit more swish in her hips for Nicole’s benefit.

Waverly laughs when Nicole wolf whistles at her from the open door of their room.

* * *

They managed to get the nursery set up (along with the crib, after much deliberation and cursing- the cursing mainly from Nicole) and once everyone left, all Waverly wanted to do was lay down for hours. So that’s exactly what they have been doing.

Nicole had the radio on, singing along softly for a while before she got up out of bed unexpectedly, muttering to herself.

“This is gonna be so good!” Nicole says as she comes back into the room.

“What are you doing?” Waverly asks with a laugh.

Nicole holds up her hands, grinning, only to show Waverly a few Hot Wheels cars.

“And what exactly are you planning to do with _those_?” Waverly asks, raising her eyebrows.

“I am going to play with our daughter, duh!” Nicole answers easily, climbing back into bed, “Now gimme that belly!”

“You are a child” Waverly says with a roll of her eyes, but she pulls up the hem of her shirt, regardless, exposing her stomach for Nicole.

“Shh, we’re bonding.” Nicole says, driving the cars over Waverly’s stomach.

Waverly can’t help but laugh at the contact. On one hand, it tickles, and on the other, this entire scenario is a bit ridiculous. But Waverly can’t help but adore the fact that Nicole is actually taking steps to bond with their daughter. She knows that whole process hasn’t been the easiest for either of them, especially given the last fight they had.

Waverly had suggested counselling, but Nicole dismissed the idea, saying they could work things out between them. Waverly, of course, googled as much as she could about the sorts of things that go on in couples counselling and has basically been doing following them. Things have been improving; they’ve been better at communicating their feelings, they’re mindful when they fight now, and have even reinstated their date nights, for the time being.

Things are far from perfect; they both still get snippy and fall back into old habits, but they’re actively _trying_ now and that’s all they can ask of each other.

Waverly runs her fingers through Nicole’s hair as she speaks, “I’m sorry I sort of ruined date night.”

“What are you talking about?” Nicole asks, fingers stilling the small police cruiser on Waverly’s belly.

“We’re stuck in here because of me, and-” Waverly gets cut off there.

“I still get to spend all night with my two favorite girls. Nothing could beat this.” Nicole states.

“But this was supposed to be about us- the whole day revolved around the baby and I know you really wanted some us time. So did I.” Waverly explains, pouting.

Nicole sits up a bit, looking Waverly dead in the eyes as she speaks, “It’s okay, really. Shit happens; I _can_ roll with the punches, you know.”

“But I wanted our night out.” Waverly mumbles, pouting harder.

“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we get in the truck and go get us something to eat? It’d get us out of the house, right?” Nicole asks, sitting up all the way.

“Ooh! Can we go through the drivethru at Wyatt’s? I wanna get one of their bacon explosion burgers with extra pickles and hot sauce!” Waverly says, getting excited over the prospects of getting out of the house, and food.

Nicole blinks a few times before she finally replies, “Do- Do you want to _die_?”

“No, but I’ll assume _you_ do if you don’t take me to go get that burger- oh, and a milkshake! Gotta dip my fries in a chocolate milkshake!”

“You are disgusting.” Nicole states, making a face at Waverly.

“You’re the one who knocked me up and married me!” Waverly chirps, leaning over and kissing Nicole on the cheek, “Now, help me up.” Waverly says, outstretching her arms towards Nicole.

They get dressed and make it out to the truck without incident- Nicole complaining about Waverly’s food choice does not, in fact, count as an incident. She’s used to it by now, but Nicole also never denies her, thankfully. Waverly has mainly craved burgers during her pregnancy, which is something Nicole likes to chalk up to their wedding night and their fast food run.

Unfortunately, there are no Five Guys restaurants in Purgatory. In fact, there is hardly anything in Purgatory aside from Mama Olive’s Diner, and Wild Wyatt’s. After the showdown between Wynonna and Olive Tate, they ended up shutting the diner down, which has left them with Wyatt’s. But at least Waverly can rest assured that there are no cannibalistic revenants running Wild Wyatt’s Burgers and Fries.

Waverly settles in as Nicole starts the truck up and pulls out of the driveway. Waverly glances at the radio but doesn’t make an immediate move to change the station.

“Go ahead.” Nicole sighs, sounding the tiniest bit amused.

Waverly glances over at Nicole and then turns the radio station when she spots her wife's smile.

“A drive just wouldn’t be the same without you changing the damn radio station.”

“You know you love it.” Waverly hums as she settles on a pop station.

“Isn’t that what I just said?” Nicole asks, glancing over at Waverly.

Waverly starts bouncing in her seat a bit as Wild Wyatt’s comes into view. She can’t help herself, her craving has gotten worse just during the short drive there. She’s honestly afraid she might cry the moment Nicole hands her the bag.

“Cool your jets, Lady. We’re almost to the window.” Nicole says as they inch forward towards the window to get their order.

“I am eating for two; it’s not my fault the baby is hungry.” Waverly grumbles.

“That was not an attack, Baby.” Nicole says as she rubs Waverly’s thigh reassuringly.

Waverly _does_ end up crying when Nicole hands her the bag of food. But honestly, that's not even the weirdest thing she’s done due to pregnancy hormones. The weirdest moment was when Nicole came home to her sobbing over a carpet cleaning commercial and eating pickles straight out of the jar with an urgency she still can’t explain- she even ended up drinking the juice while still sobbing!

They make it back home easily enough and Waverly couldn’t exactly restrain herself, so she started in on the meal the moment they pulled out of the drivethru. Nicole helps her out of the truck, the bag of food still in her hand, death grip evident and she almost ends up crying again when Nicole offers to take it from her just to help her down.

The meal is decimated in what feels like seconds to Waverly, but she’s thankfully not hungry anymore. Not after the burger, fries, milkshake, and Nicole’s order of fries that she had to beg off of her wife.

They’ve settled back in bed after changing into their pajamas and Waverly doesn’t think this moment could be anymore perfect if she tried to construct it herself.

Nicole is lower on the bed, head next to Waverly’s stomach as she rubs Waverly’s belly. The baby has been moving around quite a bit since they got home, which isn’t really surprising. She generally moves around the moment Waverly stops moving for too long.

“There’s a foot.” Nicole says, and Waverly looks down at her stomach only to see a clear outline of a foot pressing out against her stomach, “God, that’s freaky.”

“It is not!” Waverly snaps, defensive.

“Oh, it totally is! But hey, I can play This Little Piggy with her now because those are teeny tiny baby toes!” Nicole says, poking at the baby’s toes and exposed foot.

Waverly feels the baby pull her foot back, only to push back out. Nicole ends up poking her foot again, only to have it withdraw for a second before the process starts up all over again.

“Oh my god, are you guys making a game out of this?” Waverly says, raising her eyebrows at Nicole

There is a pause before Nicole pokes the baby’s foot again. “Nooo, absolutely not.”

The push back only confirms that it is, in fact, a game.

“Having fun in there, Mommy’s little parasite?” Nicole coos, tickling Waverly’s belly.

“She is not a parasite!” Waverly says, shoving the hem of her shirt down as if to defend herself and the baby from the claim.

“I mean, technically-”

Waverly cuts Nicole off there.

“If you value your life, you will not finish that sentence!” Waverly yells before throwing Nicole’s pillow at her head.

“Seriously, you hit me with my own pillow?” Nicole says, shoving it off of herself.

“Well, I’m not going to use one of _mine_!” Waverly yells, offended at the mere prospect.

“Okay, okay, I surrender!” Nicole says, head down on the mattress with her hands held up in surrender.

“I knew you were smart.” Waverly says, smiling at Nicole, who has since picked her head up from the mattress.

“I do try.” Nicole replies, grinning before moving up the bed and kissing Waverly.

“You succeed.” Waverly whispers as Nicole pulls back the slightest bit.

The moment is interrupted by Waverly’s belly practically shaking. It takes a few seconds for the information to register to Waverly as to what exactly is happening, but soon enough, she figures it out.

“What the fuck is going on down there?” Nicole says, hand going to Waverly’s belly, “You’re not in labor, are you?”

“Do you really think this is what labor looks like?” Waverly asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“I don’t know, but that’s clearly not _normal!_ ” Nicole replies, flabbergasted.

“She just has the hiccups.” Waverly clarifies.

“She’s been really active today.” Nicole says.

“You’re telling me. My back aches so bad from her little gymnastics routine.” Waverly says, trying to shift where she’s seated to get comfortable.

“Well, I’m sure I can help with that. Sit up.” Nicole says, moving Waverly up.

Waverly sits up, her legs now hanging over the side of the bed as she feels Nicole’s hands slide underneath her shirt, warm against her back. Nicole begins massaging her lower back and Waverly closes her eyes, just letting herself feel.

She’s not too far from her due date at this point.  Just about two weeks away, and somehow those two weeks feel like an absolute eternity. She misses being able to sleep on her back- hell, she misses just being able to _sleep_. Not to mention the constant need to pee has really been getting to her, lately.

She’s marveled at the fact that no one ever mentions how truly awful pregnancy can be.

Well, they do, but no one really goes into gorey detail. Then again, if anyone did, she’s sure no one would choose to ever get pregnant ever again. Then again, Waverly also knows that having their daughter at the end of all of this will be reward enough for this horror show.

But she’s also tired of waiting. She’s read in a few books that one can try to induce labor themselves, but most of it was old wives tales and completely unfounded. However, there have been a few tricks that have popped up on the parenting forums she’s taken to frequenting, and while some of them have been tried and haven’t worked, she’s pretty sure trying another couldn’t exactly hurt.

Nicole slides her hands up a little farther, pushing Waverly’s shirt up a bit more to gain better access.

“Here, just let me.” Waverly starts, trying to take her shirt off.

Nicole helps out, pulling the shirt up and over Waverly’s head before tossing it to the corner of the room.

“I hope you know you’re picking that up later.” Waverly sighs as Nicole starts massaging her back again.

“I know.” Nicole responds, kissing Waverly’s shoulder.

Waverly can’t help but moan when Nicole hits a rather tough knot on her back and finally works it out. She had been carrying that one around the entire day and nothing seems to alleviate it until Nicole came along. Waverly can’t help but notice Nicole breath hitch the tiniest bit after she moans, and then it hits her. She knows exactly how to spin this scenario to possibly get this baby out of her just a little bit faster than initially planned: sex.

It’s when Nicole moves to about midway up her back that Waverly begins to moan just a tiny bit louder, pushing back into Nicole’s hands. She isn’t trying to oversell, it so the moaning does die out into sighs and panting before starting up again when Waverly deems it appropriate.

“Jesus, if you keep that up, you’re gonna get me hard.” Nicole says against Waverly’s ear.

“What if that’s the plan?” Waverly says, smirking even though she knows Nicole can’t see her.

“Is it, now?” Nicole replies, kissing a small trail up Waverly’s neck.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Waverly says, feigning innocence.

“Mhm, maybe let’s pretend I believe that, then.” Nicole says, sliding a hand up and unclasping Waverly’s bra.

Waverly slides the bra straps off of her shoulders and lets her bra fall to the floor below her. Nicole’s hands slide around Waverly and cup her breasts. The briefest contact has Waverly moaning, which, if she had enough time to process the situation, would be embarrassing. But Nicole’s making sure the only thing she can possibly be thinking about is how damn good her hands feel on her.

“Wanna see if you can come from just this?” Nicole whispers from behind Waverly.

“That would be a neat party trick.” Waverly replies, licking her lips.

Nicole rolls Waverly’s nipples between her thumb and forefingers and Waverly gasps as the sensation hits her. It’s almost as if Nicole’s hands are farther down her body with how she’s reacting. But god, it feels so damn good, and Waverly doesn’t currently care how it’s happening, just that it continues to happen. She can feel herself climbing that edge, but suddenly she knows it won’t get her farther than she already is. That doesn’t mean it’s still not good, though and she’s going to be very vocal about just how good it is. She moans and leans back into Nicole, who is panting behind her as she continues her ministrations.

Nicole shifts her position so that she’s on her knees now and Waverly knows this for a fact because she can feel Nicole’s erection digging into her back.

“Fuck, you’re so hard.” Waverly sighs, blindly grabbing behind her and clasping her hand around Nicole’s thigh.

“It’s all your fault.” Nicole replies in a gruff whisper.

“Good.” Waverly pants.

“Come here.” Nicole says, trying to turn Waverly.

Waverly turns to face her, and then they’re kissing, frantic and desperate, and Waverly can’t really get enough. Kissing Nicole has always been fun, and that hasn’t diminished in their time together. Besides that, Nicole’s hands are pulling her closer, and Waverly just enjoys feeling _wanted_ right now.

Nicole starts to move Waverly back, but she stops her.

“What? What’s wrong?” Nicole asks, pulling back enough to look Waverly over.

“We can’t just- I don’t know what position will work.” Waverly says, trying to clarify.

“Oh. Oh yeah...well, we can just try some? I mean, you could ride me?” Nicole offers up as a solution.

“Oh, hell no,” Waverly quickly tries to rectify her statement when Nicole looks the tiniest bit hurt by it. “I do not need you that deep inside of me right now; I have enough going on.”

‘Uh, okay. Well, maybe on your side?” Nicole tries again.

“That could work.” Waverly says after a small amount of consideration, “Get the pillows for me?”

Nicole complies as Waverly tries to get into position, both having made quick work of undressing- or as quick as Waverly could make of it. Waverly hears the cap of the lube bottle click open and the sound of Nicole working the lube over her cock before she feels the bed dip as Nicole climbs back into bed and scoots over to her. She ends up with two pillows under her knees as Nicole moves behind her, her leg positioned just a bit over the top of Waverly’s own before she enters her.

It’s not exactly the most comfortable thing ever, if Waverly is honest, but it’s a sight better than the idea of riding Nicole. First, Waverly knows she couldn’t handle that sort of penetration at the moment. And second, she also doesn’t think she could handle having to see her belly from that angle for so long. That’s not to say she doesn’t love her body right now, because she does, it’s just that she’s fully-aware that she has lost a good part of her sex appeal- or assumes so, given how awful she feels on a regular basis due to the pregnancy.

That’s the reason they haven’t actually had sex for the past month. It’s not that Waverly hasn’t wanted to at all, it’s just that the moment the mood hits her, she starts to overthink everything and worry that there is no way Nicole could want to be intimate with her in that way.

Granted, the current situation speaks against that, but Waverly’s fairly certain just the prospect of getting laid is enough to make an uncomfortable situation bearable for Nicole. This afternoon was a bit of a different situation, altogether, Waverly just couldn’t help herself. Nicole just looked so damn good and Waverly needed some form of a release.

Besides, Nicole didn’t actually have to do more than touch her, which was considerably less intimate than the position they are currently in.

Waverly gasps as Nicole thrusts into her, stealing all the words she could have been thinking. Despite herself, it does feel good; sex with Nicole always does. Nicole’s hand slips around Waverly’s hips as she rubs fast circles over her clit. Waverly finds herself riding that edge again, her orgasm taking both her and Nicole by surprise with the speed in which it hits her, and the intensity of it, altogether.

Nicole slows her pace and then stills completely inside of Waverly as she rides out the aftershocks of her orgasm.

Waverly starts nodding before she finds her voice enough to speak, “Okay, okay, you can keep going.”

Nicole starts up again, just thrusting into Waverly. Her hand slides up Waverly’s body and rests on Waverly’s belly as she continues to fuck her.

“You are so fucking sexy.” Nicole mutters into Waverly’s ear, moving down and sucking on Waverly’s neck.

Waverly can’t help but scoff.

“You _are_ , Baby. The things I’ve wanted to do to you all day after I got you off...god damn. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.” Nicole growls before nipping at Waverly’s neck.

“What did you want to do?” Waverly asks, panting.

“I wanted to make you scream my name so that your family heard. I wanted them to know how dirty you are, begging for me to fuck you like that. You were _begging_ , Baby. Couldn’t get enough of me, could you?”

Waverly moans before finding her words enough to answer, “Oh god, no. I wanted you so bad. Fuck, I needed you. I needed all of you.”

“Needed me to fuck you like this?” Nicole says as she thrusts into Waverly, hand still on Waverly’s belly to steady herself.

“Fuck yes!” Waverly gasps, “Just like that, please, Baby. Keep doing that. Keep fucking me! Just like that, Baby, don’t stop!” Waverly pants as she grips the bedsheet in front of her.

“I’m not gonna stop, Baby. Your greedy little cunt is just begging to be fucked like the dirty whore you are.” Nicole growls out as she keeps thrusting into Waverly, speeding her pace but still managing to keep her thrusts shallow enough that Waverly fully enjoys them.

Waverly’s not expecting it when Nicole’s hand slides down to her clit, fingers working fast and rough circles over it. She gasps at the contact and then moans low in her throat as Nicole hits just the right spot. It feels so damn good, and feeling so absolutely wanted in the state she’s in has just riled Waverly up more. She’s become almost frantic to catch her release, but she’s at Nicole’s mercy and it seems Nicole has run out of mercy to give as she keeps thrusting into Waverly, growling as she buries her cock inside of her.

Waverly finds herself reaching back behind her, trying to grab for whatever part of Nicole she can reach. Instead, she just ends up running her nails over Nicole’s thigh. Waverly can feel the raised, angry marks she’s leaving, but she can’t seem to stop herself.

Suddenly, before Waverly can register what is happening, she’s coming. Nicole’s not far behind as she loses the pace she had been keeping and thrusts into Waverly one last time, grunting as she buries her cock inside of her, coming with a loud, broken moan.

They lie together for a while just breathing as they come down from their respective highs. Nicole doesn’t even bother to pull out of Waverly, she just waits as her cock goes soft again and slips out naturally.

Waverly’s actually grateful for that decision on Nicole’s part- it gave her body enough time to relax, and she wasn't hit with aftershocks and completely overstimulated.

Waverly doesn’t bother to try to change positions as she closes her eyes. She can feel Nicole’s steady, sleepy breathing against her back and half wonders if her wife has already fallen asleep. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had, but then she smiles when she hears Nicole’s soft, sleep-soaked voice behind her as she cuddles close, hand sliding over Waverly’s belly.

“I’m sorry I called you a whore. You’re not a whore.” Nicole mutters against the back of Waverly’s neck.

“I know, Baby. It’s okay.” Waverly says, patting Nicole’s arm.

“Okay, I’m gonna sleep now.”

Nicole’s voice comes out in a muffled mumble and Waverly can’t help but laugh to herself before she replies, her voice low to match Nicole’s. “You do that, Baby.”

Waverly snuggles into bed, trying to get more comfortable as she closes her eyes to sleep. She knows sleeping will actually take a bit more effort for her, even though both her body and mind are absolutely exhausted, but finally she feels sleep taking her over.

Unfortunately, she’s jolted out of the peaceful bliss just on her fingertips by a tightening of her lower abdomen. She takes a sharp breath in and lets it out slowly, trying to breath through the pain. It’s only when it happens again that Waverly starts to worry and actually reaches over and shoves Nicole awake.

“What, what?  I’m up, I’m awake, what’s going on?!” Nicole says as she bolts up in bed, clearly still very disoriented.

“Um, I think I’m in labor?” Waverly says, voice searching because it’s not like she’s ever done this before.

“What?!” Nicole yells before lowering her voice considerably, “Okay, okay, your hospital bag is by the door. Shit, we have to get dressed! Okay, I um, I can-”

“This is probably going to take a while, so you can stop running around like a chicken with your head cut off.” Waverly says, pushing herself up to a sitting position.

“Oh, I um...okay,” A pause and then, “Shit, is Orie in his crate? I don’t remember-”

“You put him in his crate before we left to go get food, Baby. He’s fine.” Waverly says, voice calm and then tense as another contraction hits.

“Okay, we have to get dressed, then get you to the hospital. I’ll call Dr. Atwood on the way there and I guess I can call Wynonna and Willa when we actually get there, and-”

“Okay, stop talking because you’re stressing me out right now. Just get dressed and hand me my shirt?”

They manage to get dressed and out to the truck with little incident. Except for Nicole panicking that she forgot her keys, twice, only to realize that the first time they were in her hand, and the second time they were clipped to her belt loop.

The whole drive to the hospital Waverly didn’t touch the stupid fucking radio dial once because music be damned- she’s in pain. Nicole’s parking job once they actually pull into the parking lot is absolutely atrocious as she parks in the fire lane, but neither of them have enough patience to care at the moment.

Once at the nurse’s desk, Nicole’s words come out in a jumbled mess and Waverly ends up having to take over.

“What she’s trying and failing to say is that I’m in labor and wow, this is super uncomfortable.”

It doesn’t take them long to check Waverly in, wheeling her to an examination room. Waverly’s heart is racing at the prospect of meeting their little girl so soon. She hadn’t actually expected the sex to work, but here they are, and soon they’ll really be someone’s parents, which is both an exhilarating and fucking terrifying prospect. Waverly’s not exactly sure they’re ready, but it seems their time has run out.

“Well, Mrs. Haught.” Dr. Atwood starts as she pulls up from examining Waverly, whose stomach flutters for a second (realizing that their whole getting married thing was really, well, real), “I’m sorry to say that what you were experiencing on the way here was simply Braxton-Hicks contractions. It’s very easy for first-time mothers to confuse them for true labor, especially this close to your actual due date. Your body is just preparing for that baby in there to come out. You still have a little while to wait; I know you're anxious to meet your little one, but it simply isn’t happening yet.”

Waverly’s disappointed in herself. She’s read so many books on labor and she should have known how to identify Braxton-Hicks contractions. But it is so close to her due date that she just assumed their little girl was just as anxious to meet them as they are to meet her. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case- not yet, at least.

“I guess I better go see if the truck got towed.” Nicole sighs, kissing Waverly’s forehead before she leaves.

“Guess it’s just a waiting game to meet you, little girl.” Waverly says, rubbing her belly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Absolutely nothing interesting happens in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am fully aware that the fandom came up with a name for Nicole's cat that is _technically_ canon but considering that name choice was dumb I have elected to completely ignore it and have deemed my own name choice canon in my small circle of "canon" aka this fic and every subsequent thing I write involving Nicole's cat.

They drive in silence for a while, headed back to Purgatory. Waverly only leaned over to the radio dial once, and Nicole couldn’t help but smile the tiniest bit at the familiar action, only for her stomach to drop when Waverly shut the radio off completely.

“I’m sorry.” Waverly mutters, still looking out the window.

“I know you are, but it's okay, Baby. Really.” Nicole says, glancing over at Waverly, concerned.

They were reassured by the doctor that this whole thing is fairly common with first time parents, but that didn’t seem to comfort Waverly at all. Nicole suspects that Waverly’s beating herself up for not realizing that what she was feeling were Braxton-Hicks contractions and not the real thing.

“You know, reading about something and experiencing it first-hand is not the same thing. You can’t blame-”

“I don’t really wanna talk about it right now.” Waverly says, cutting Nicole off.

Nicole lets it go. Waverly doesn’t sound angry, just tired, and it’s not as if Nicole isn’t tired, herself. So for now, she's just going to let it go and focus on the road ahead of her.

“Okay, Baby. Try to get some sleep; it’ll be a little bit before we get home.”

Waverly doesn’t reply, she just shifts in her seat and closes her eyes, head resting against the truck window.

Nicole isn’t about to pretend like she isn’t disappointed, too but that doesn’t matter as much to her as making Waverly feel better. This really wasn’t anyone’s fault. They legitimately thought she was in labor and of course the first thing they were going to do was get Waverly to her doctor.

Nicole doesn’t regret it in the least. She just wishes that they weren’t going home right now. She actually wishes she was camping out in an uncomfortable hospital chair and trying hopelessly to coach Waverly through her breathing.

Instead, they are driving home in a silence that is deeply uncomfortable, even if Nicole tries to tell herself otherwise.

Finally, they pull into the driveway and Nicole parks and turns the engine off. She unbuckles her seatbelt but doesn’t move to get out of the truck. She just sits there and looks over at Waverly, who probably fell asleep halfway through the ride back home.

Waverly isn’t too far from her due date as it is, so it really could be any day now and Nicole would be lying if she said that knowing that fact doesn't put her on edge. Everything feels like it’s all happening at once, even if nothing is _currently_ happening.

After a few more minutes, Nicole finally climbs out of the truck and goes over the the passenger side, opening the door. She catches Waverly’s head before she completely slumps down, still sound asleep.

It’s going to kill her to have to wake Waverly, but it has to be done so they can get inside and actually try to get comfortable.

“Baby, come on, wake up. We’re home.” Nicole says as she shakes Waverly's shoulder.

Waverly stirs and grumbles, but Nicole knows she's not actually awake. She tries again, shaking Waverly’s shoulder just a bit harder.

“Mmn, do I have to get up?” Waverly whines, eyes still closed.

“‘Fraid so, Baby. But you don’t have to go far.” Nicole says, smiling at Waverly, who still has yet to open her eyes.

Waverly huffs and then waits a few seconds before opening her eyes and unbuckling her seatbelt.

Nicole takes Waverly's hand and helps her down from the truck. Soon enough, they’re in the house and getting changed into their pajamas in relative silence. Nicole can’t take it anymore and finally says something.

“I don't blame you.”

Waverly looks over at her at that and then furrows her brow in confusion.

“What?”

“I don’t blame you. It’s not like you really have a frame of reference between Braxton-Hicks and anything else.”

“Well, bully for you.”  Waverly bites back, and Nicole doesn’t understand the hostility.

“Hey, Waves, I wasn’t trying to be an ass. I was trying to let you know it’s okay-”

Waverly cuts her off there.

“So it’s okay that I woke you up in the middle of the night and we drove two hours to Fort Collins, wracked up a hospital bill, and drove back empty-handed? Really, Nicole? That’s okay?!”

Nicole pauses before she answers, trying to assess the situation as best she can without pissing Waverly off more by taking a while to reply.

“Well, yeah. We thought you were in _labor_ , Waverly. Of course it’s okay.” Nicole finally responds, tone earnest.

“It doesn’t feel okay to me. I feel like an idiot.” Waverly says, most of her fight gone as her voice cracks the slightest bit as she continues, “I pretty much have one job here and I screwed it all up!”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Nicole says, walking over to Waverly and running her hands up and down her arms, attempting to reassure her, “Remember what Dr. Atwood said? This is common for first time parents. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I just wanted to be right.” Waverly mumbles, folding into Nicole.

“I know, Baby.” Nicole says, holding Waverly where they stand, her hands rubbing comforting circles into Waverly’s back.

Waverly mumbles something into Nicole's chest, but she can’t quite make it out.

“What was that?” Nicole asks, pulling back from Waverly slightly.

“I said, I’m sorry for yelling at you, earlier.” Waverly clarifies.

Nicole smiles and then pulls Waverly back in.

“I know you are, and I forgive you.”

“Can we go to sleep, now? I know you have work in the morning.” Waverly says, looking up at Nicole.

“Yeah, come on.” Nicole agrees, leading Waverly to the bed.

* * *

 Nicole’s alarm goes off way too early- or at least it feels that way to her. She’s lying there contemplating the pros and cons of calling out of work and then ultimately decides she has to go in. She can just make a few cappuccinos before she goes in- that thought alone is incentive enough for her to drag herself out of bed.

She yawns loudly as she heads out of the bedroom and down the hall. Orie is yelping in his crate, eager to get out and get his breakfast, and Nicole’s stomach growls in sympathy.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming. Give me a second.” Nicole says, making her way over to Orie’s crate.

He barely settles down enough to let her actually open the crate to let him out, but she gets it open all the same.

As soon as he's freed, he’s jumping up on Nicole.

“No, down Orie! Down!” Nicole orders and thankfully, Orie complies, tail wagging excitedly as he looks up at her.

“Okay, stay.” Nicole says as she holds up her hand and starts backing away slowly.

Orie watches her go, just happy to have attention paid to him, it seems. Nicole backs into the kitchen and gets the container full of Orie’s food and as soon as the food shakes in the container, Nicole darts back into the living room, only to see Orie perk up at the sight of her, still sitting exactly where he was before.

“Good boy, Orie! You’re such a good boy, yes you are!” Nicole praises Orie as she walks back into the living room and fills his food bowl.

He sits patiently and looks up at Nicole, tail wagging more frantically now. Nicole smiles and then nods.

“Go ahead, Buddy.” She says, and Orie starts scarfing down his food.

After replacing his water, she leaves him to his own devices and then goes off in search of Whiskey, who she figures is probably sitting in a windowsill watching the birds outside.

In fact, that is exactly where Nicole finds her, tails swishing lazily hanging outside the curtains.

“Whisk!” Nicole calls, only to get a soft trill in reply as Whiskey comes out to greet her.

“Breakfast time, Babygirl.” Nicole says as Whiskey twines herself around Nicole's legs, only to trot off in the direction of her food bowl.

Nicole makes quick work of feeding Whiskey and replacing her water and then decides to finally feed herself. She’s searching around the cabinets when she hears Waverly walk into the kitchen. It's not long after that when Nicole feels hands slide around her waist and all of Waverly’s body weight is resting on her back. She knows Waverly is hardly awake and she doesn’t want to do much to really wake her up fully, so she doesn’t say anything immediately. She just lets Waverly stand there for a few seconds.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Nicole finally ventures to ask.

“No, the baby did.” Waverly’s voice is muffled by Nicole’s back, but Nicole hears her all the same.

“Why don’t you try to go back to sleep?” Nicole asks, still not turning around to face Waverly, whose face is still firmly pressed into her back.

“But you’re warm and comfy.” Waverly whines, not lessening her grip around Nicole's waist.

“And soon I’ll be gone. Come on, Baby. Let's get you back to bed.” Nicole says, unlacing Waverly’s fingers around her waist one finger at a time.

Waverly huffs but eventually agrees on one condition, “Water first, then bed.”

After drinking two glasses of water and the assurance that she will be getting a third to sit on the bedside table if she ends up waking up thirsty again, Waverly is finally in bed again and Nicole walks over to the dresser and pulls out her uniform pants.

It’s when she is bent over, one leg in the pants that Waverly chimes in.

“I do like watching you get dressed- well, my favorite thing is watching you get _un_ dressed, but dressed is good, too.”

“No comments from the peanut gallery. You’re supposed to be _sleeping_.” Nicole counters, though she’s smiling

“I’ll sleep when the baby sleeps.” Waverly shoots back in reply.

“Uh-huh, make sure that’s actually sometime in the next thirty minutes, okay?” Nicole says, pulling her pants all the way on.

“I’d rather just-” Waverly cuts herself off with a sharp breath in and then slowly exhaling, “-watch my gorgeous wife standing half-naked in our bedroom.”

Nicole turns around to look at Waverly, concerned.

“You okay over there?” She asks, taking a few steps towards the bed.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. She just keeps squirming around and kicking me in the ribs.” Waverly says, hand on her belly as she looks over at Nicole.

“That does not sound fine.” Nicole says, but doesn’t move forward.

“It is, promise. It’s not like this is the first time.” Waverly replies with a tired smile.

“Get some sleep, Baby.” Nicole says, moving forward and kissing Waverly’s forehead.

“I can only try.” Waverly says, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.

“That’s all I ask.” Nicole says before she turns around and continues getting dressed.

“For now, I am going to enjoy the show, though and you can’t stop me.” Waverly says from behind her, and Nicole can hear the smug satisfaction in her statement and doesn’t bother to fight it; that would be a losing battle and she knows it.

Nicole doesn’t end up having enough time to actually get anything to eat, but just manages to head out to the cruiser with a thermos full of instant cappuccino. Nicole thanks God for that birthday gift on days like today.

The drive to the station isn’t that long and unfortunately, doesn’t do anything to wake Nicole up. But she makes it to her desk in enough time to take a few sips from her thermos, only to jump when Nedley slams a stack of unfinished reports down on her desk.

“Just what I always wanted, Sir. How did you know?” Nicole mumbles to herself.

“I have an eye for these things, Haught. Thought you knew that by now.” Nedley says, lifting his mug of coffee to his lips before he walks away from Nicole’s desk.

In a few hours, Nicole has written five reports of drunken disorderly conduct- most originating at Shorty’s, but surprisingly not all. Her back aches when she finally pulls herself from the last report and she gets up and walks to the break room, only to grab a donut from a open box and start eating, still unwilling to walk back to her desk and finish the reports begging for her attention.

Finally, Nicole drags herself back to her desk after a quick bite to eat and a bathroom break. She’s broken through all of the drunken disorderly reports and has instead found herself writing up a report about the group of teenagers she busted trying to tag the water tower. Their biggest issue was that the spray paint they stole from their parents was actually almost the same color as the water tower. The tower itself is an off-white now due to bleaching from the sun with a bit of rust stains here and there, so one can only see the tag if one is actively looking for it, but either way, they were trespassing on government property, which led to their arrests.

Her favorite report so far has to be the one about the man brandishing a gun in the local Piggly Wiggly. Though that arrest itself wasn’t much fun at the time, recounting it never fails to make Nicole at least smile at the absurdity.

The one she has found herself struggling to write is the one involving Revenants. She’s not exactly sure how to go about writing all of this out without sounding either completely insane, or...completely insane.

It helps that another officer was on the scene with her and has given her a jumping-off point. Granted, his note of “PCP????” isn’t exactly the most enlightening. But she _is_ pretty sure she can chalk it up to an extreme reaction to hard drugs, since that seems to be par for the course as far as police reports involving Revenants go. And considering that Purgatory is a small town, it’s not exactly out of the question.

Nicole’s just finished the sentence, “It seems the suspect in question was under the influence of what is suspected to be hard drugs; likely PCP or a substance in that family.” when her cell phone rings. She lights up the moment she recognizes Waverly’s ringtone. It’s become habit now that Waverly isn’t working for Nicole to get a call from her just to check in and see how the day is going.

“Hey, Baby. Just the person I wanted to hear from.” Nicole says as she answers the phone.

“So, you need to get your ass over here.” Wynonna bites out

“What? Wynonna?” Nicole says, thoroughly confused.

In fact, she pulls the phone away from her ear momentarily to make sure it was Waverly’s phone that called her. She wasn’t wrong.

“Oh, you get a gold star for that one, Officer! Look at those handy dandy police instincts kicking in.”

“What’s going on?” Nicole says, immediately on high alert as the fact that Wynonna is calling from Waverly’s phone truly sets in.

“Your wife, my dear beloved dumbass sister, is in labor-” Wynonna is cut off by Waverly yelling in the background.

“I’m fine!”

“Tell that to the contraction you’re currently having!” Wynonna yells back at Waverly, voice muffled slightly.

“Wynonna! What’s going on?” Nicole yells, only to immediately lower her voice, gaining stares from the other officers.

“Get. Your. Ass. Home. Your. Wife. Is. Having. Your. Baby!” Wynonna bites out, so loud that Nicole has to hold the phone away from her ear.

Wynonna hangs up the phone immediately after that and there is a few seconds pause before Nicole bolts out of her chair and heads straight for Nedley’s office.

“Uh, Sir, I have to uh, it’s Waverly-” Nicole’s rambling is cut off by Nedley holding up his hand to silence her.

He doesn’t even look up from his paperwork when he responds, “Go.”

“But I uh-” Nicole tries again, only to be cut off.

“Just go, Haught. I’ve been there. You’re going to be running around like a chicken with your head cut off and I’d rather you do it outside of this station.” Nedley replies, finally peering up at her.

Nicole just nods before she runs out of the station, her thermos and hat abandoned in her haste. She runs her sirens and lights on her way home and actually forgets to put the cruiser in park before she tries to climb out, only getting halfway out before remembering and parking the cruiser.

Nicole runs into the house, door slamming against the wall, only to be greeted by the sound of Waverly screaming. Apparently, she and Wynonna made it into the living room and only got that far before Wynonna called.

“How long has this been going on?” Nicole asks, looking to Wynonna and then rushing over to Waverly’s side.

“Since I’ve been here.” Wynonna offers with a shrug.

"So helpful.” Nicole bites in reply, only to look to Waverly, who has grabbed her hand and started squeezing. _Hard._

“Since about-” Waverly cuts herself off, screwing her eyes shut, “-about six this morning?”

“What?!” Nicole responds, “Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“If you recall, I _told you_ the baby woke me up!” Waverly grunts in reply.

“You didn’t say you were having contractions!” Nicole says before she pulls away from Waverly enough to grab the hospital bag from beside the front door.

“Well I didn’t know, _did I_ ? Besides, labor can take _hours_. Especially the first time!” Waverly yells to Nicole’s back, only to add, “Shit, my water just broke.”

Nicole turns around to face Waverly and opens her mouth to reply, but closes it again as Waverly screams, effectively rendering anything Nicole could have said moot. Nicole’s taken aback by how quickly this contraction has come along and begins timing the space between them, only to realize that they won’t have time to get to Fort Collins at this rate.

“I think we’re all out of time, Baby.” Nicole says, fearing Waverly’s reaction to the news.

“No we’re not. Let’s just get in the truck and go!” Waverly argues, trying to push herself up off of the chair she is sitting in.

Flat-out refusal.

Nicole saw that one coming.

“Hey, hey, we don’t have time to make it to Fort Collins.” Nicole says, dropping the hospital bag and moving to help Waverly up.

Waverly looks absolutely mortified when she replies, voice desperate, “No, no, we _have_ to be able to make it there! That’s where my doctor is! We have a birthing plan, Nicole! We have a _plan!_ We _wrote it down!_ ” She’s clutching at Nicole’s arms when she says that, and another contraction hits. From the sounds of it, it doesn’t seem as big as the others Nicole has been witness to so far.

“Sometimes plans have to change, Baby. We can get to the local hospital fast, though. It shouldn’t be an issue in the cruiser-”

“Ooh! Are you gonna run the sirens?” Wynonna asks.

At the same time, Waverly pipes up with a ‘solution’ to their situation.

“We could have a home birth! I’ve watched every episode of _Call the Midwife_!”

Nicole sighs and then tries to move Waverly towards the door. Orie yelps and then runs towards Nicole, jumping up.

“What? No, Orie. Down!” Nicole says, looking down at the dog.

“Oh man, how’d he come back in? He was in the backyard!” Wynonna says, confused as she tries to grab Orie.

“We have a dog door!” Nicole yells before turning her attention back to Waverly, “Come on, we have to get you out to the cruiser.”

Waverly doesn’t protest and Nicole grabs the hospital bag off the floor before walking Waverly to the front door and opening it, “Wynonna, you stay here with Whiskey and Orie!”

“What? No! I wanna see that baby be-” Wynonna is cut off by another scream from Waverly. “On second thought, I’ll stay here with the demon dog and you can deal with everything you’ve got going on!”

Nicole doesn’t reply, she just walks Waverly out the front door and slams it as they make it outside. Once in the cruiser, things seem to go a lot easier. Waverly isn’t too happy to be making their way to Dr. Reynolds, but it’s not like they have another choice; this baby is coming, and soon. Nicole would rather they get to the safety of a hospital as quickly as humanly possible.

“We could just go to Fort Collins! It’s not that big of a deal!” Waverly says on the heels of another contraction.

“Waverly, do you want to have this baby on the side of the road?!” Nicole yells over the siren.

“Right now, that would be preferable to the fucking Crypt Keeper delivering our daughter!” Waverly argues.

They get to the hospital without incident. Half of that is due to it being midday, and the other half is due to the lights and sirens, Nicole is fully aware. Either way, they’re here now and check Waverly in. Going through all of the paperwork is a trip, with Waverly yelling expletives whenever Nicole tries to clarify an answer. In fact, when Nicole attempts to clarify Waverly’s weight, Waverly refuses to answer aloud and instead insists that she write it in just before they hand the papers over to the nurse.

They wheel Waverly into a hospital room and she’s making damn sure that anyone who gets even remotely close enough to the room knows just how unhappy she is. Waverly settles down once it’s confirmed she can actually have her epidural, but it took Waverly grabbing Nicole by the collar of her shirt and not-so-vaguely threatening bodily harm to get them here.

Nicole takes Waverly’s hand as she actually gets the epidural and it takes about fifteen minutes or so before the drugs kick in, but when they do, Waverly calms considerably. Nicole takes that as her cue to start calling relatives.

The moment her mom picks up the phone, Nicole starts to feel a bit more at ease.

“Nicole? Is something wrong?” Judy asks, concerned.

“No, the opposite, actually. Waverly’s in labor. We couldn’t make it out to Fort Collins like we planned but-” Nicole is cut off by a high pitched scream from her mother.

“Oh, we’re on our way, honey!” Judy says into the phone and then Nicole hears her mother’s voice muffled, calling for her father, “Greg! Greg, we have to leave right now! Waverly’s in labor! Oh would you just tape your stupid football game?” A pause and then “I don’t care if it’s the playoffs, Gregory Haught! Your grandchild is being born and don’t you dare say you already have two of them!”

“Mom?” Nicole calls, trying to get her mother’s attention again

“Oh, Sweetheart we’ll be there as soon as we can. Don’t worry about calling anyone else, I’ll call them on our way there.” Judy says before hanging up.

Nicole didn’t even have time to say goodbye.

She dials the homestead, and Willa answers on the third ring.

“Hello?” Willa says, sounding winded.

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know that Waverly’s in labor and we’re at the local hospital. Wynonna knows, but she’s looking after Orie and Whiskey for now.”

“Okay, I’ll-” Willa cuts herself off, giggling before clearing her throat and trying to compose herself, “I’ll be there soon.”

“Babe, just hang up the phone.” The distinct voice of Nicole’s brother Kevin comes over the line, and Nicole almost drops her phone.

“KEVIN?!” Nicole yells and then hangs up the phone as Willa tries to explain herself. Nicole throws her phone in the hospital chair and glares at it in disgust.

“What the fuck was that about?” Waverly asks, looking from Nicole’s phone to Nicole.

“I do _not_ want to talk about it.” Nicole states, still looking at her phone as if it will jump up and bite her any second.

“Okay, Baby.” Waverly says, voice soft, sounding drugged and happy.

At least one of them is right now.

It takes about another hour before Waverly is fully dilated and given the okay to start pushing. Her drugged happiness quickly dissipates as she begins pushing.

“You’re doing so good, Baby.” Nicole says, trying to encourage her wife.

“Oh my god, this is all your fault! I have been pushing a goddamn watermelon out of my vag for two fucking hours because of _you!_ ” Waverly yells, squeezing Nicole’s hand that has mercifully gone numb by now.

“Just focus on your breathing, Baby. Just focus on your breathing.” Nicole says, skirting past everything Waverly just said.

“Fuck my breathing and fuck you, which, by the way, I am NEVER doing again!”

In the midst of all this chaos, Dr. Reynolds finally speaks, “And the head’s out!”

“See, Baby? We’re making progress!” Nicole says, moving to go look.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Waverly yells as she yanks Nicole back, “You got me into this mess. You aren’t going any-fucking-where!”

“Okay, Waverly. One more big push and you’ll have your baby!” Dr. Reynolds says, and

Waverly gives one long push, wordlessly screaming the entire time until her screams are suddenly accompanied by the cries of their baby.

“Congratulations, it’s a boy!”

Waverly is out of breath and beet red when she chokes out, “What? What do you mean?”

“Do you want to cut his cord?” Dr. Reynolds asks, turning to Nicole, handing her the scissors.

Nicole wordlessly nods. He’s so small and still as squirmy as ever, and Nicole is damn sure he has his Mommy’s lungs on him because he hasn’t stopped screaming yet until he’s drawing in a breath, and Nicole is completely and hopelessly in love with him. He looks a bit like an alien with all of the gunk still on him from the birth, but he is absolutely the most beautiful little alien in this world.

He is perfect and he’s all theirs.

Nicole snips the cord, which Dr. Reynolds clamps, and then the baby’s being wrapped up in his receiving blanket and handed to Waverly, who cries the moment her fingertips touch him. Nicole can’t imagine a moment better than this one. He quiets down and looks at her and then Waverly as Waverly starts speaking to him.

“Well, you’re definitely not a little girl.” Waverly says, still crying as she kisses his forehead.

“But you’re absolutely perfect just the way you are, little boy.” Nicole says, leaning down as she looks at him.

He immediately looks over at Nicole when she speaks, and Nicole can’t help but reach out for him. His tiny fingers wrap around her index finger immediately and his grip is surprisingly strong- that’s the only thing Nicole can think beyond, ‘wow’.

“I think he recognizes your voice.” Waverly says, looking up from the baby to Nicole.

“I gotta tell ya, little boy. It is so nice to finally meet you.” Nicole says, crying now, absolutely overwhelmed with how much love she has for this small, defenseless little baby.

She’d heard stories about parents feeling like their hearts opened in new ways after the birth of their first child but Nicole wasn’t sure it was true. Now though, she knows there is absolute truth to the concept. She can’t imagine herself without this new neverending well of emotions for her son. She would do absolutely anything for him. Hell, she feels like she could lift a car right in this very moment, and if she’s honest, there is a small part of her that is terrified to touch him in fear of doing something _wrong_.

After a few more minutes, the nurse takes him to be weighed and measured and Nicole follows along at Waverly’s request, and her own inability to tear herself away from this squirmy little boy. They find out the moment he is unwrapped and weighed that he does not appreciate being cold, nor does he appreciate them clearing his nasal passages and his throat, but the moment he’s swaddled again after his cleaning, he’s good to go.

In fact, that is the moment they hand him over to Nicole, and she’s absolutely awed the moment she holds her son in her arms.

“I didn’t know I could love someone so much, but then you came along and boy, do I.” Nicole whispers as she leans down close to him. He yawns in her face, seemingly unaffected by Nicole’s words.

Nicole’s laughing when the nurse comes up and tells her they can go back to Waverly now that she has successfully delivered the afterbirth. Nicole walks over to Waverly and sits down on the chair next to the bed, scooting close enough to the bed that her knees touch it. She leans over to Waverly, not wanting to hand the baby over just yet.

“This is your Mommy. Isn’t she pretty?” Nicole says, sincere.

“I look like I got run over by a truck fifteen times.” Waverly drawls before taking the baby from Nicole’s arms, “But that’s all _your_ fault, little man.” She coos, running her index finger gently over his cheek.

The baby yawns again and Waverly and Nicole both laugh.

“We both had a rough day today, huh?” Waverly says, gently rocking him from side to side.

“But the best day.” Nicole adds.

“The absolute best day.” Waverly agrees, not breaking her eyes away from the baby.

They just sit there for a while, the baby falling asleep in Waverly’s arms. Nicole never knew anything could feel this way. She’s absolutely overwhelmed with emotions, for her son, for Waverly, for all the promise their future holds. Waverly looks from the baby to Nicole and they just stare at one another, tears falling as they blink. They don’t say anything for a while, they just sit there looking at one another and Nicole knows she couldn’t love Waverly any more than in this moment that is all theirs, with their little family.

Waverly starts to fall asleep and Nicole takes the baby and holds him for a while. He whines a little bit as he’s woken up, but Nicole manages to soothe him back to sleep, talking softly. After a while, she puts him in the hospital bassinet and they take him to the nursery to do a full examination of him.

Nicole leaves the hospital room, only to be greeted by Wynonna, Willa, and unfortunately and unsurprisingly, Kevin.

“Oh, hey, you guys.” Nicole says, grinning like an idiot.

“Well, come on, tell us how it went!” Wynonna says, shoving Nicole’s shoulder.

“It went well and we have a perfect, healthy, seven pound little boy!” Nicole says as her parents and Jamie walk up to them.

“Oh my goodness, Nicole, congratulations!” Judy says pushing past everyone to hug her tightly.

“Good job, Kiddo!” Greg says, clasping a hand on Nicole’s shoulder once her mother releases her.

“Well, Waverly did most of the heavy lifting.” Nicole says with a shrug.

“I fucking knew it was a boy!” Jamie says, pumping her fist in the air before pointing at Wynonna, “You totally owe me ten bucks!”

“Jamie, keep your voice down.” Judy scolds.

“You bet on the gender of my child?!” Nicole asks, baffled.

“You bet your sweet ass I did, and I won!” Jamie says, finally looking back over at Nicole.

“So, when can we meet this little boy of yours? Settled on a name yet? I mean, you know, Gregory is a strong name.” Greg says, flat-out ignoring Jamie’s antics.

“Oh, Greg. Give them some time, I’m sure we’ll see him soon!” Judy says.

“Can we go see Waverly?” Willa asks, moving in front of Judy.

“She might still be asleep, but I don’t see why not. It might be best if you guys go in one at a time, though? She’s pretty worn out.” Nicole replies, smiling at Willa.

Willa walks past Nicole and heads into the hospital room with a small knock.

“So, Wynonna, where are Doc and Dolls? I figured they wouldn’t want to miss this. Also, what the hell did you do with my animals?” Nicole asks, reality starting to set in the tiniest bit.

“Your animals are fine; they’re at the homestead. My boys, however, are down in the giftshop looking for the perfect gift, meaning they will probably be arguing for hours. I should probably text them that it’s a boy, though.” Wynonna finishes, walking off to text her boyfriends the news.

“Speaking of gifts!” Judy says, holding up a hand before digging into her tote bag. “I’ve made this for your little one.”

Judy pulls out a blue crocheted baby blanket.

“Oh wow, Mom, thank you so much! But how- how did you know?” Nicole says, taking the blanket from her mother.

“Oh, a Grandma always knows-” Judy is cut off by Jamie.

“Bullshit! She made two other blankets: a pink one, and we’re still not sure why she made the green one, but I guess if Waverly popped out an alien, Mom was going to be prepared, goddamn it!” Jamie exclaims proudly.

“Jameson Elizabeth Haught, you couldn’t let your mother have this one thing?” Greg says, turning to Jamie.

Nicole walks down the hallway towards the nursery, the sounds of her family fighting in the hallway echo behind her, but that doesn’t fully register. She’s determined to go get some personal time with her son- Waverly had nine months, after all.

She walks over to the baby’s bassinet, marveling at the little label on it reading ‘Baby Boy Haught’. Nicole looks down at her son looking around, curiously and smiles at him as she leans down to greet him.

“Hi there, little boy. I’m your Mama, and let me tell ya, this big world out here is yours for the taking.” Nicole says before she picks him up and cradles him in her arms.

He stares at her in rapt attention as she speaks, stirring the tiniest bit.

“You look a lot like your Mommy, yes you do.” Nicole coos down at him, stroking his cheek. “But I see some of me in you, too. You really lucked out in the genetics department, Kid.”

Of course he doesn’t respond, and Nicole wasn’t about to think he would. She just wants to spend as much time with him as she can- she’s still bowled over by the fact that this is her and Waverly’s son. This little boy is all theirs.

“I’m gonna tell you a secret, okay? You are absolutely the best thing me and your Mommy have ever done.” Nicole says as she kisses the top of his head.

The baby squirms enough that one of his hands is freed as he reaches out and tries to grab Nicole’s nose when she brings her face closer to his.

“I’m pretty sure your Mommy will agree with me, too. Oh, and I have another secret for you, but you’ve gotta keep this one all to yourself forever, got it?”

The baby gurgles in reply.

“I was hoping you’d be a boy.” Nicole starts swaying in place, rocking the baby in her arms.

Just then, she hears a tapping on the glass and the muffled sound of her name being called. She looks up to see her family pressed up against the glass: her parents, Jamie, Wynonna, Willa, Doc, Dolls- and even Kevin, who for once doesn’t look bored.

Nicole walks to the glass and holds the baby up so that everyone can see him better. They all coo and wave at him, smiling from ear to ear. She even thinks she sees Doc tearing up the slightest bit before he composes himself and shoves a cigar towards the glass, pointing to Nicole and then the cigar, grinning widely.

Nicole is still smiling as she shakes her head and then moves the baby back down in her arms to just look at him for a while longer. He really is absolutely beautiful and she still can’t get over that fact. She and Waverly made this tiny human in her arms and he is perfect. Her heart feels like it could burst from all of the love she feels for him in this moment, but she still stands there holding him and falling more in love with him every second.

“Happy birthday, little boy. This life is going to be so good to you if I have any say in the matter.” Nicole says as she holds her son close.

She’s still standing near the glass of the nursery as the baby falls asleep and she walks back over to his bassinet, still reluctant to put him down just yet. Nicole smiles as she leans in, holding his little hand in her own, stroking his knuckles as she speaks.

“You were born on January 7th, and you weigh seven pounds even. That’s gotta make you lucky, for sure. I mean, I know your Mommy and me are definitely lucky to have you. You are the best surprise we could have ever gotten.”

Nicole kisses her son’s forehead as she puts him down in his bassinet, thankful that he barely stirs when placed down. Nicole walks back into Waverly’s room to find her sitting up and talking to Wynonna before she excuses herself and it’s just Nicole and Waverly.

“I love you so much, you know that? We made that beautiful little boy out there and you did such a good job.” Nicole’s crying now and so is Waverly as Nicole moves up and kisses her. They’re interrupted by a nurse coming in, rolling their son’s bassinet into the room.  
  
And suddenly, their little family is complete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Does the baby have a name? Currently no.  
> 2) Do I know what the baby's name is going to be? Yes.  
> 3) Am I going to tell you? I would rather let his parents be the ones to break the news.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing Baby Haught to his crazy little slice of the world.

Waverly has been awake for what she assumes has been at least an hour. Well, collectively it has probably been an hour. She hasn’t exactly been awake the whole time, dozing in and out. Though every time she wakes up, she finds herself reaching out towards a bassinet that is no longer there.

Waverly wasn’t actually awake when they took the baby to the nursery for the night, and she's trying to calm the overwhelming guilt she feels for that fact by making a list in her head. Distractions have never seemed to fail her, and she hopes they won’t start now. The list itself consists of the pros and cons of yanking everything off of her (and out of her, as they inserted an IV just to be on the safe side), and marching down to the nursery herself and getting her baby back in her arms where he belongs.

Two large problems come with that, though. One, the hospital staff would not be happy with her in the least the moment her monitors stopped, well, monitoring. And two, she would not only wake Nicole, but wake her with panicked hospital staff rushing into the room unnecessarily.

Nicole, who is somehow still asleep, slumped in the chair next to the hospital bed. They must have offered her a more comfortable option, but it seems she refused. She at least has a blanket over her lap- well, what part of it isn't already on the floor is still on her lap, and she’s snoring softly and shifting every now and again. It's taking everything in Waverly not to wake her up. But it’s when the nurse comes into the room with the baby that Nicole finally does wake up, hand wiping at her cheek as she looks around the room, startled and dazed.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Waverly intended the comment to be directed at Nicole, but she was also handed the baby at the same time, so she's not sure if the comment landed. Mainly because the second he was handed to her, her son immediately yawned before blinking up at her in sudden rapt attention. Intellectually, Waverly is aware he can pretty much only see blobs of color at this point, but that does not stop her heart from swelling the moment she makes eye contact with him.

He’s finally here. She feels like she’s been waiting years, not just for the nurses to finally show mercy and bring him in but also throughout her pregnancy.

“I missed you so much.” Waverly says as she grabs one of his little hands and peppers small kisses to it before she leans down and kisses his cheeks, right first, then left.

His only response is to squirm, and Waverly is going to take that as a good response.

“Okay, Mommy. You ready to try feeding your little one, there?” The nurse- Brandy, as her name tag reads- asks, walking up beside Waverly.

“Oh, um, absolutely!” Waverly says, looking up from the baby as she answers Nurse Brandy.

In all honesty, Waverly’s not sure how she feels about diving headfirst into breastfeeding- though her body seems raring to go with that particular challenge. She woke up to sore, full breasts and while she knew that was an impending development, it didn’t make it any more enjoyable when it actually happened. Besides knowing that her body seems to have this covered, she’s still hesitant because, well, it’s not like she has ever done this before and she’s honestly terrified of getting it _wrong_.

Waverly looks down at her son in her arms and has an overwhelming drive to just get this right for his sake.

“Don’t worry, it’s what nature intended. I’m sure you’ll both catch on quick.” Nurse Brandy says, smiling down at Waverly.

“Well, come on, Kid. Guess we got nothin’ to lose.” Waverly says with a laugh that even she can tell sounds awkward and forced.

“I um-” Nicole stammers, and Waverly’s attention is drawn back to her, only to note her wife has in fact gotten up out of the chair she had staked claim on last night, “Do you, um, should I-” Nicole cuts herself off, motioning towards the door.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Waverly asks, honestly confused.

“Do you want me to go?” Nicole finally blurts out.

“God, no!” Waverly snaps, and she can feel her face reddening, despite herself.

“Okay, I’ll just…” Nicole motions to Her Chair and then plops down.

“Alright, well, since everyone knows where they’re going to be, why don’t I help you get everything situated so that we can get this show on the road, hm?” Nurse Brandy says, motioning for Waverly to lean forward.

Waverly complies and waits as Nurse Brandy unties the back of her hospital gown. Soon enough, Waverly’s topless as her gown falls into her lap. She positions the baby into the cradle hold (thankfully, she can recall the different positions from the classes she and Nicole took in preparation), and tries to position herself to make this whole process a lot smoother.

It doesn’t work.

He’s not latching on, and Waverly can’t figure out what she’s doing _wrong._ And dumbass, obnoxious, Nurse From Hell Brandy is being no help with her chirping pseudo-inspirational bullshit in Waverly’s ear. Things like, “Just give it some time, it’s all up to nature, after all!” and, “I’m sure he’ll pick it up soon; some babies take a bit longer than others. It’s not a science!” and honestly, Waverly wants nothing more than to hold her crying son close to her while she beats the ever loving shit out of Nurse Fucking Brandy because at least the skin to skin contact would only help them bond as she gets out her frustration.

And now she’s crying, too.

Nicole swoops in and takes the baby with only a tiny bit of resistance from Waverly (which Waverly is very proud of, thank you very much). Soon, Waverly realizes she’s listening to Nicole shush their son and it’s working on her, too.

Nurse Brandy suggests a break _after they’ve already begun taking one,_ and Waverly only briefly considers throwing something at her, which is a victory in her book at this particular moment.

“Do you think we could-” Nicole pauses as she repositions the baby, “Do you think we could have a moment?” Nicole asks, effectively ushering Nurse Brandy out of the room.

“I love you so fucking much.” Waverly blurts out, grateful to finally have a moment where she feels like she can breathe.

“I love you, too.” Nicole says, turning back to Waverly, “And god, now I understand why you wanted to be in Fort Collins; I can’t stand that preachy bitch.”

Waverly gives a watery laugh as she replies, “I love you.”

Finally, everyone seems to calm down and Waverly is once again holding her son. This time though, she is determined to take her time. She’s pretty sure repositioning him and just shoving her nipple at him without warning wasn’t exactly the best way to go about things, especially not when she wasn’t exactly feeling the most confident.

So, they’re taking their sweet ass time, now.

The baby’s laying on her chest and they’re both just breathing and somehow, Waverly didn’t realize a moment so small could be so overwhelmingly perfect. She runs a finger through the small tuft of hair on his head; it’s light still, but she’s pretty certain he’s going to be blessed with her hair.

When he starts squirming and making small noises, Waverly figures he’s ready to try this whole thing again and positions him. Though this time, she’s going to go with the crossover hold, considering that will give her a bit more control, and hopefully give him a bit more security.

This time around, it doesn’t take long before he’s latched on and feeding. Waverly sighs out, relieved that finally they both figured this thing out and knowing that she’s not going to end up forcing her baby to go hungry due to her own incompetence (intellectually, she knows that wouldn’t even remotely happen, but it still feels that way to her, regardless of validity).

Nicole leans over, having scooted her chair as close to the bed as she could get it the moment Nurse Brandy left the room. Her hand rubs over the baby’s back as he continues nursing. Waverly looks from their son to Nicole, and she’s just overwhelmed with all the emotions coursing through her.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Nicole whispers, not removing her hand from the baby’s back and instead using her other hand to wipe at Waverly’s tears.

“I’m just really happy.” Waverly says, feeling dumb but also not caring much about that; not with their little family so very content and complete.

It doesn’t take much longer for the baby to finish nursing, pulling back from Waverly and squirming. Wordlessly, Waverly hands him over to Nicole and she takes him, cradling him close before positioning him over her shoulder and patting his back to burp him.

“You know, we’ve got to think up a name for him.” Waverly says, just watching Nicole as she rocks their son in her arms.

“Well, my dad did suggest naming him Greg.” Nicole says with a grin as she looks over at Waverly.

“Does Greg start with a silent W?” Waverly pointedly asks, raising an eyebrow.

Nicole slumps where she stands, bending her knees as she looks over at Waverly, slightly exasperated. Only when the baby starts crying does she resume her earlier rocking motions as she replies.

“You’re still going on about that?” Nicole asks, looking at the baby.

“I told you, it’s tradition!” Waverly responds, defensive.

“And _I_ told you that’s a load of bull!”

A knock on the door interrupts their...disagreement.

“Hi, guys. I’m sorry to interrupt-” Nurse Brandy starts, and Waverly seriously doubts that Brandy is sorry about any damn thing concerning them, “-but there is about a busload of eager family members out here to meet that little man of yours. Of course you can take your time and make yourself, erm-” Brandy hesitates briefly as she searches for the word, “-a bit more _presentable,_ but just know, they’re here.”

Waverly is pretty sure she hears Hayley’s voice from outside the room.

“Seriously, if you’re hemming and hawing over a pair of tits-”

Nurse Brandy looks behind her at this comment, until it continues.

Waverly isn’t sure what Hayley said after that, but whatever it was caused Brandy to close the door without another word, so she might have to ask her about it later. Soon, everyone is decent again- well, the baby is still only in a diaper, but that’s the only option he has at this point.

Actually-

“Hey, can you hand me the blanket your mom made?” Waverly asks, looking at Nicole, trying to calm the new prince of fussiness.

The moment he’s wrapped in the blanket while the front of him is pressed to Waverly’s chest, all squirming and crying stops, so at least they’ve gotten that bit figured out. Not long after that, Nicole’s going out into the hall and calling various family members into the room. Waverly already told her not to let too many people in at once; one, because she didn’t want to overwhelm the baby, and two, she didn’t want to get overwhelmed herself.

Hayley, Scarlett, Emily, and a tall pale lanky man who can only be Tim all shuffle into the room. The kids make a beeline for Waverly and the baby, and Scarlett actually tries to climb up on the bed before Nicole grabs her and pulls her back.

“Aunt Waverly, Aunt Waverly!” Scarlett bursts out, a collection of hyper energy and limbs, “Can I see her? Can I? Can I? I bet she’s the prettiest baby ever!”

Waverly smiles at Scarlett but casts a questioning look at Hayley, who is skillfully avoiding all eye contact at the moment.

“Um, sure, sweetie. But the baby’s actually a boy!” Waverly tries to match Scarlett for her enthusiasm and then sees her face just fall in absolute disappointment.

Well, there went all the happiness in the room.

In fact, the baby seems to pick up on it as he starts fussing again, though thankfully, he quiets down as Waverly strokes her finger up and down the bridge of his nose. She doesn’t even notice that he’s fallen asleep until Scarlett points out that he has.

“Aunt Waverly, he’s asleep!” Scarlett whispers loudly in a way Waverly assumes only toddlers and drunk adults can.

Waverly looks down to see the baby has, in fact, fallen asleep.

“So what’s his name?” Emily asks, drawing Waverly’s eyes from the baby to her.

“Oh, well, he doesn’t exactly _have_ a name yet.” Waverly admits, somehow feeling embarrassed admitting this to two small girls.

“Whaaat?” Scarlett pipes up, clearly scandalized by the news, “What do you mean he doesn’t have a _name_ ?!” Scarlett then turns to her parents, “Mommy, Daddy, the baby doesn’t have a name yet _and_ he’s a boy!”

Waverly can still hear the disappointment in Scarlett’s voice and actually almost feels bad for her, but she wouldn’t trade her little boy for anything.

“Yes, we know, Scarlett.” Hayley says, walking over to Scarlett and Emily, smoothing a hand through Scarlett’s hair.

“But he should have a name! Oh, can we name him?!” Scarlett asks, turning back to Waverly.

“You can give us some names and we can think them over?” Nicole suggests.

“Okay, um…” Scarlett pauses, clearly thinking over her choices hard, given the look of concentration on her face.

“What about Michael? He kinda looks like a Mike?” Emily suggests.

Waverly smiles at Emily and then looks down at the baby, “We’ll put it on the list.” Waverly says, fully intending to at least consider it for a middle name.

“Simba!” Scarlett pipes up.

Waverly wonders if Nicole hurts herself with the strain of the Eyeroll Heard Around The World. Luckily, no one else caught it. Or at least if the other adults in the room did, they’ve taken to ignoring it.

“We’ll put it on the list, little lion girl.” Nicole says before she bends down and picks Scarlett up, causing the small girl to squeal with excitement before she’s put back on the ground.

Waverly looks down at the baby, who is still sleeping soundly.

“Oh, don’t worry. The world could end and he’d sleep through it.” Hayley pipes up.

Waverly looks up at Hayley and she can feel herself blush, but she can’t stop it from happening. She wonders if everyone will be able to read her like a book, or if it’s just Hayley that is so perceptive. Waverly distantly wonders why Hayley wasn’t the one to follow in her father’s footsteps, and then considers the fact that Hayley seems to like to use this superpower of hers for evil most of the time. And if anything, Hayley would a be a supervillain.

Waverly could see it very clearly: Hayley concocting evil schemes to dismantle her family’s good time, all while not spilling a single drop of wine from her glass. Waverly’s even certain Hayley would skip the monologuing, preferring the nifty zingers instead.

“Of course, he’ll never sleep like that when you actually _want_ him to.” Hayley says, nudging her husband with her elbow.

He smiles and then looks at Waverly, the smile turning a bit awkward as if he remembers just exactly where he is.

“Oh, um, I don’t think we’ve actually met before this. I’m Tim, Hayley’s-” Tim starts to extend his hand awkwardly to Waverly before Hayley knocks it down to his side.

“He’s the poor sap I roped into marriage. Though I would keep that baby away from him, or he’ll start begging me for another one.” Hayley jokes.

Unfortunately for Hayley, Scarlett actually paid attention to the comment and has decided that it sounds like a wonderful idea. “Oh please, Mommy?! I want a little sister! Can we get one?!”

“They’re not like puppies, Scar. Don’t be stupid!” Emily says, pushing her sister slightly with the comment.

“Mommy, Emily called me stupid!” Scarlett starts to whine.

“I did _not_ , I said don’t _be_ stupid; there’s a difference!” Emily pipes up in her defense.

“Give me that baby so I have something else to focus on.” Hayley says, holding her hands out for the baby.

Waverly pauses only briefly before handing her son over to his aunt. He hardly stirs as he changes hands and even Waverly has to admit Hayley looks good holding him. It looks natural, as she supposes it should be after having two children.

It doesn’t take long for Emily to pipe up, asking to hold him, too. Waverly hesitates briefly, looking to Nicole.

“Sure you can, Em. You’ve just gotta sit down right here in this chair and I’ll hand him off to you; sound good?” Nicole says, leading Emily over to the chair she slept in the night before.

Emily nods eagerly and climbs into the chair, hands out to receive the baby.

“Okay, remember to support his head.” Nicole says, gently taking the baby from Hayley and placing him in his older cousin’s arms.

Emily looks down at him and grins from ear to ear and Hayley starts taking pictures, especially when Scarlett runs up beside the bed the moment she sees her mother taking photos. Waverly never pegged Scarlett as being a ham for the camera, but she absolutely is, getting up on her tiptoes to give the baby a kiss on the forehead, glancing at the camera as her photo is taken.

There’s a loud, demanding knock on the door and the muffled sound of Jamie on the other side.

“Wait your turn, Aunt Jamie!” Scarlett yells, disrupting the picturesque moment she was posing for just seconds before.

“And with that, we take our leave- though Mom, Dad, and Jamie are waiting out there, in case you didn’t get that!” Hayley calls over the chaos, wrangling her two kids towards the door.

“Awww, but Mommy, I wanted to hold cousin Simba!” Scarlett whines, looking up at her mother, who is trying to get her through the door.

Emily's parting line to her sister is, “You’re too little to hold him, and they’re not actually gonna call him that, idiot!”

Tim hangs back by the bed for a few seconds, trying to say goodbye in a way that isn’t excruciatingly awkward and failing miserably before Hayley calls for him and he jumps, hurrying over to his wife and children. He gives Waverly an awkward smile and wave and nods at Nicole before he disappears after his family, the door closing behind him.

Jamie catches the door before it fully closes, poking her head through. “You guys ready for us? Everyone decent in here?” Jamie asks, in what Waverly assumes can only be the intentionally wrong order.

“If we weren’t, you’d already know.” Nicole calls with a sigh as she motions for Jamie to come in.

Judy and Greg file in after Jamie, huge grins from them all as they notice the baby in Waverly’s arms. Waverly watches Judy’s eyes as she looks at the baby before her eyes flick down the slightest bit, catching that he’s wrapped in the blanket she made for him. She and Waverly make eye contact for a second, and Waverly’s heart catches in her throat.

She thinks to herself that this must be what having a mother feels like, and it’s such a foreign concept that Waverly’s not sure what to do with these emotions. But she also doesn’t want this moment to end, fleeting though it may be.

Their moment is broken by the baby stirring, calling Waverly back to her new job as someone’s mother- seems a fitting disturbance to the moment if ever there was one. Waverly looks down to see the baby licking his lips and she remembers that’s a hunger cue. She starts to reposition the baby on her chest before she remembers the company in the room.

“Um, the baby’s hungry, do you all mind if I feed him?” Waverly asks, looking around the room.

In all honesty, if anyone does object, she’s just going to send them out of the room because her child’s needs come first.

“Oh, no dear; go right ahead!” Judy chirps.

Nicole thankfully moves up and stands between Waverly and the guests in the room, effectively blocking them from view at the angle and Waverly can't help but be thankful. Soon, she’s got the baby positioned correctly against her chest, the blanket still covering his back- he seems rather vocal about wanting to be covered when possible.

The feeding is over quickly and Waverly covers herself up again, but the baby continues to stir even after being burped, and Nicole starts to panic about changing his diaper, mainly because she has absolutely no idea where to even _get_ a clean diaper. It's in the midst of her rambly panic as she's trying to soothe the angry baby in her arms that Judy points to the bassinet and the drawers underneath it, and Nicole looks at her mother as if she has just been given the secret to life.

Nicole puts the baby in the bassinet as she gets the supplies needed and seems to remember the need to wash her hands as she straightens up wordlessly and heads straight for the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as she runs the sink.

Greg turns to Judy and smiles, “At least she seems a bit more put-together than poor Tim ever was.”

“Or you, for that matter. At least with Kevin and Hayley- you started the get the hang of it with Grayson, thankfully.” Judy responds, playfully looking up at her husband.

Nicole returns to the room and the baby, and while Waverly is glad to see her, it’s also taking everything in her to not get out of the hospital bed and take over herself. But she knows Nicole would object if Waverly even made to get out of bed at this point, so she stays put. Besides, Waverly doesn’t mind shoving diaper duty off to Nicole for a little while.

“Okay, I know, Buddy. Everything kinda sucks right now, but I promise it’ll get better real soon!” Nicole says, trying to soothe their son.

It doesn’t work.

He screams louder the moment the dirty diaper is off and the second the wipe makes contact with his skin.

He _really_ does not like being cold, and Waverly can’t exactly blame him. It _is_ the worst thing that has ever happened to him in his entire life so far. At least that he can remember.

“Oh my god, _why is it sticky?!_ ” Nicole exclaims, clearly distressed.

Judy laughs as she replies, “Believe me, you’re better off _not_ knowing!”

Soon the diaper is changed and everyone is happy again- most of all, the baby. Though according to Nicole, it was absolutely rancid and she was under the impression that newborn diapers would be the easiest ones! Though granted, so was Waverly, so now she’s really glad she had Nicole field this one, after all

Waverly resists the urge to immediately reach out for the baby the moment Nicole walks even the slightest bit closer to the hospital bed. It turns out to be the right choice as Judy looks to Nicole and then Waverly, asking permission.

“Do you think I could hold him?” Judy asks, looking more to Waverly than Nicole, who is actually holding the baby.

“Of course! You’re his grandma, after all!” Waverly says, smiling.

Judy takes the baby from Nicole and the moment he’s placed in her arms, Judy's face softens to an expression Waverly could never properly capture with words. Thankfully, she sees Nicole pull out her cell phone and snap a picture just in time to preserve the moment.

Greg actually cries the moment he holds the baby, and Waverly can’t help but laugh the smallest bit when both Nicole and Jamie take their phones out to capture _that_ moment.

Waverly's pretty sure Jamie recorded a video.

Jamie’s the last to hold the baby, insisting Nicole take a video of the moment using her own phone.

“Well, there’s my little money-maker!” Jamie says as she is handed the baby from her father. A pause and then, “Ow!”

Jamie looks up at Nicole, glaring grumpily about being smacked upside the head before turning her attention back to the baby.

“Well, if you’d just give him a _name_ . We’re not even asking for a _respectable_ one- I mean, Dad offered up his own for consideration, for christ’s sake- Ow! Stop hitting me!” Jamie says with a louder whine as she leans away from her father this time, trying to avoid her sister and father at all costs.

“I have precious cargo here!” Jamie attempts to remind everyone loudly before she starts rocking the baby from side to side.

He hasn’t taken his eyes off Jamie yet.

“I think you’ve got a new little fan there, Jamie.” Waverly says, smiling as she is handed the baby again.

“Well, give the poor little guy a name soon and then I’ll know who to sign the autographs to!”

“Okay, well, I think we should be heading out. We have a long drive back home... unless, Nicole? Do you want us to stay in town for a bit while you two get settled with the baby?” Judy offers, looking at Nicole.

“Oh, um, no. I’m sure we’ll be fine. I mean, he’s just one tiny baby, after all.” Nicole says, walking her parents and sister to the door.

Judy does not look remotely convinced as she pauses, giving Nicole a knowing look before answering, “Mhm. Well, if you _do_ end up needing us, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll put you on speed dial.” Nicole says, ushering her family out of the room.

They get about five minutes of time to themselves before Wynonna, Doc, Dolls, Willa, and even Kevin come barging into the room. Wynonna is carrying gift bags with her, which she plops down on the bed beside Waverly.

“Okay, giving you this deal now: gifts in exchange for some overdue cuddle time with that little hugabug over there.”

Waverly smiles and restrains herself from commenting on the nickname, simply because she likes it far too much to tease her sister about, currently.

“Gimme, gimme, gimme.” Wynonna says, making grabby hands for the baby as Waverly hands him over.

“You know,” Waverly starts as she begins digging through the bag, pulling out a footed and hooded sleeper, “For someone who claims to be so against babies, you certainly have no issue with him.”

Waverly makes a happy sound when she notices the sleeper also has mittens.

“Yes, well, I get the best deal here. I get to cuddle him and love him, but I can give him back to you the moment he gets on my nerves.” Wynonna then looks down at the baby, stroking a finger over his cheek, “Which hasn’t happened, yet; no, it hasn’t.” She coos the last statement.

“You look good with a baby in your arms, Wynonna.” Nicole teases.

“Don’t you dare start in. I have had to beat those two-” Wynonna motions blindly behind her, “-back with a stick lately on the baby subject and I do _not_ need you giving them fuel to this fire!”

“So when are they letting you out of here?” Willa asks, shifting where she stands, looking around, visibly uncomfortable.

Waverly does not miss the moment Willa grabs for Kevin’s hand.

She narrows her eyes as she looks up at Willa, “Not for another day…” Waverly pauses, sizing them both up before diving headfirst into the fray. “So what exactly is going on with you two?” Waverly asks, pointing her finger between Willa and Kevin.

“Hm?” Kevin hums, now involved in the goings on around him. “Oh, well, we just um-”

“We’re dating; he’s my boyfriend.” Willa states, proudly.

Waverly just ends up shaking her head in disbelief, despite herself, “Well there ya go! I’m happy for you, Wills, really.” As an afterthought, Waverly adds, “You too, Kevin.”

Willa declines the offer to hold the baby, and soon Nicole is ushering everyone out of the room. Waverly admits she’s happy for it to just be the three of them again.

“We’ve had such a busy day today, haven’t we?” Waverly says, whispering to the baby, “That’s your entire _crazy_ family- don’t worry, you’ll get used to them eventually.”

He starts licking his lips again and Waverly lets the top of her gown fall down completely again, giving the baby more skin to skin contact with her while she positions herself correctly to feed him.

“Okay, since you two are a bit preoccupied at the moment, I think now’s the time for me to head back home. I love you both dearly, but I desperately want to take a shower.”  Nicole says, leaning over to Waverly and giving her a kiss before leaning down and kissing their son on the top of his head.

“I’m pretty sure we can manage for a while in a fully-staffed hospital. Even if it _is_ in Purgatory.” Waverly replies with a smirk.

The baby doesn’t feed much longer after Nicole leaves, which just leaves them lying peacefully together after Waverly burps him. She pulls out her cellphone after a while.

“Everyone’s right, little man; you need a proper name, and we’re gonna go search for the perfect one. Sound good?” Waverly asks, looking down at her son, who just squirms a little in reply, happy to be so close to his Mommy and under what Waverly assumes is quickly becoming his favorite object: his blanket from his grandma.

Waverly gets a bit distracted here and there, snapping photos of her son while she takes ‘breaks’ from looking up names. She hasn’t found one that feels right to her yet, and she’s not backing down from her W requirement, either.

She’s been saying a few names aloud to him when she finds a few she can’t quite decide on. It’s when she says the latest one that’s made the short list that the baby squirms a bit more, and while Waverly is aware that her newborn son is physically incapable of smiling at her, she will defend to the death that that is the exact thing he does- showing that he has inherited his Mama’s dimples after all (Waverly had been wondering).

“I think we’ve got the perfect name for you. Mhm, I think we do. Just gotta wait for your Mama to get back here to see how she likes it.”

Waverly ends up dozing off with the baby on her chest. She doesn’t even wake up when Nicole comes back into the room- though she is informed later that apparently she grabbed Nicole by the wrist and then smacked her hand away when she reached for the baby, all while still asleep.

At least she has assurance that her maternal instincts have fully kicked into gear.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Nicole says as Waverly wakes up and at first she’s not sure if Nicole is talking to her or the baby, but decides it doesn't’ exactly matter.

“We were busy while you were away.” Waverly hums, hand rubbing the baby’s back.

“Yeah, I saw when I came in.” Nicole says with a grin.

“No, not that, I think we picked out a name for him.” Waverly says, looking down at the baby and then up at Nicole, excited.

“Oh yeah? Well, come on, tell me what you came up with!” Nicole says, urging Waverly on.

“How do you feel about Warner Nicholas Haught?” Waverly asks, a bit nervous.

Nicole softens at the name, looking from Waverly to the baby and then back up at Waverly, teary eyed.

“Nicholas. Really?” Nicole asks, bewildered.

“ _Really_.” Waverly says with a nod, smiling at her wife.

They sit there, looking at one another for a few seconds of silence, aside from the baby’s small noises and gurgles until finally, Nicole leans over to their son and speaks, stroking her hand over the little tuft of hair.

“I think it’s very nice to meet you, Warner Nicholas. Everyone’s going to be so excited to know you have a name, now.” Nicole says, picking up her son’s hand and shaking it gently before he pulls back from her, curling further into Waverly, beginning to feed again.

* * *

 Getting home wasn’t as much of a production as Waverly assumed it would be. All of Warner’s paperwork was in order, he passed all of his tests, and getting him dressed was less of an ordeal than Waverly worried it was going to be.

Getting a sleepy, bundled baby out of his carseat without royally pissing him off is the challenge currently facing her at this moment. She can’t bear the thought of waking him up, given that he looks absolutely peaceful like this, but despite his layers, she does not want him out in the cold Colorado January any longer than absolutely necessary. Especially given that Nicole refused to even drive the speed limit when they drove the small distance back home, making their drive longer than it ever should have been.

Finally, Waverly just bites the bullet and unbuckles him from the carseat, going as slowly and gently as she possibly can, but unfortunately, Warner wakes up and starts whining. Waverly can’t exactly blame him- he _is_ currently facing his biggest foe: cold.

“I know, Sweetheart, I know. Mommy’s going as fast as she can. You’ll be nice and warm, soon.” Waverly coos, attempting to reassure him that this is all just temporary, “You were definitely born in the wrong time of year.” Waverly huffs as she carries him inside, making sure to grab his favorite blankie.

“Hey there, Buddy.” Nicole greets Warner as Waverly carries him in. His only response is to cry, loudly. “Aw, not happy, little man? We’ll get you all nice and warm. How about a bath, hm? That should help.”

Waverly tries to settle Warner as Nicole runs around to get everything ready. Waverly actually printed out a few things like supplies for newborn baths, and a little diagram on how to change a diaper and hung them up on the fridge in preparation for their homecoming before she ever expected to go into labor, and she can hear Nicole grab something off the fridge.

“Guess those printouts weren’t overkill after all, huh?!” Waverly calls out.

"Don’t say another word.” Nicole says, coming in and moving to grab Warner.

Waverly doesn’t hand him over, though. Instead, she walks with him into the nursery and sets him down on the changing table, Nicole having placed all the necessary supplies where they needed to be already.

Getting Warner undressed is actually the most taxing ordeal of the entire thing, considering that as Waverly walked them into the nursery, he calmed down considerably. Now he’s fully relaxed and mailable as Waverly turns him over on his stomach briefly to wash his back with the washcloth.

When he’s back on his back is when Nicole starts playing with his feet. He pulls back from her, only to then extend his legs out again towards her when she lets go. Almost a mimic of the game they played before he was born.

Soon, Warner is cleaned off and changed into a clean diaper and nothing else. Waverly doesn’t find any issue with this development, given that the heat is on in the house and they are both fully intending on it staying that way. Waverly picks Warner up and walks into the living room, bouncing him slightly as she goes.

She hears him yawn and then, “Big yawn, little man, busy day?”

Nicole laughs at her own stupid joke and Waverly can’t help but smile to herself before she sits down and then finally hands Warner over to Nicole. Nicole holds Warner up in the air above her before slowly lowering him back down towards her face, giving him big kisses on his descent, only to repeat the action a few times.

“Take him back for a second?” Nicole asks, handing him back to Waverly.

Waverly takes him, of course, though she has to admit she is thoroughly confused. Less so when she sees Nicole stripping off her shirt and bra and then promptly motioning for Warner again.

“Skin to skin contact is best, right?” Nicole asks, settling Warner down on her bare chest.

“Uh-huh.” Waverly hums, looking over at her wife and son, completely in love with both of them.

Waverly’s actually pretty certain that they’ve got this whole parenting thing down, at least as far as a newborn is concerned. He hasn’t been very fussy all day, and they’re fully prepared for the interrupted sleeping schedule Warner is going to demand of them (Waverly especially, given that she’s breastfeeding).

But so far? They’ve absolutely got this.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life adjustments are made, lots of them

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song playing later in the chapter can be heard [here,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv2DSmy3Tro) it's a cover of Stand By Me by Florence + The Machine

They _so_ don’t got this.

Warner is crying his head off, Nicole can’t seem to soothe him no matter what she does (so she is pretty sure he’s hungry), and Waverly has pretty much barricaded herself in the bathroom and Nicole still hasn’t really figured out _why._

“I know _,_ Buddy, I know. Mommy will be out soon. Sh, sh, sh.” Nicole times the shushing with little bounces, but Warner's just crying harder, so Nicole eventually stops and just rubs his back.

Waverly has been in the bathroom for what feels like forever, and things on the outside here with Warner are just getting worse. So, Nicole gets fed up.

“Waverly get your ass out here and feed your son or I swear to god, I will go make a bottle of formula!” Nicole yells through the bathroom door after banging on it loudly.

There’s some shuffling from inside the bathroom and then Waverly’s opening the door wide, looking frantic and pissed at the same time.

There’s blood all over her hands.

“Jesus Christ, did you _kill_ someone in there?!” Nicole says before Waverly can get a word out.

“Yes. Do you wanna be next?!” Waverly growls out before slamming the bathroom door in Nicole’s face, not bothering to wait for a reply.

After a few second’s pause, Nicole hears Waverly yell from inside the bathroom, “If you even _think_ about actually making him a bottle of formula, I will come out there and shove that fucking powder down your throat and see how you like it!”

Five more excruciating minutes pass while Warner just keeps crying, and Waverly is still in the bathroom that probably looks like a murder scene by now.

“Okay, Sweetheart, I know this isn’t what you _really_ want right now, but I _need_ a little peace and quiet, so it’ll have to do until Mommy comes back out.” Nicole says, looking at her very unhappy son.

Warner starts sucking on the finger she offers him, and he at least settles a little bit. Of course, ten seconds later, Waverly finally emerges from the bathroom and takes Warner from her. Nicole is surprised by how hard it is to extract her finger from her son’s mouth, and a pang of sympathy shoots through her for Waverly and her situation. She can understand Waverly’s testiness, especially after the little remake of The Shining in their bathroom just a few moments before.

Warner fusses a little bit until Waverly situates herself enough to begin feeding him.

The chaos dies down for about an hour, and Nicole crawls back into bed and closes her eyes. Just as she almost falls back to sleep, Warner starts crying again.

And then they’re up again.

Nicole goes and gets Warner from his crib, trying to soothe him as best she can (and failing miserably), until walks back into their bedroom and hands him to Waverly, who feeds him. He falls asleep and then they’re up doing this the next hour, and what feels like the next, until Nicole is fairly certain that this is all just becoming muscle memory.

Warner cries. Nicole gets up and hands him to Waverly. Waverly feeds and burps him. Someone- usually Nicole- checks his diaper and then changes it if need be. So on and so forth for what feels like eternity.

And then someone snaps. Surprisingly (or maybe not-so-surprisingly), it’s Waverly.

“Will you get up and go get him?!”

Nicole does not want to get out of bed; she is beyond tired. She is sore, and exhausted, and stressed out because she’s pretty sure this will be the one time she gets out of bed and for some reason, Warner does not stop crying.

In fact, _she_ feels like crying at this point.

She grunts in response and doesn’t move for a few seconds until Waverly is shoving her out of bed. Nicole falls to the floor with a thud and glares up at Waverly, who is glaring right back.

Nicole loses the staring contest that only really lasts a second because Warner is still crying and Nicole can’t leave him for long; not when she knows Waverly is just sitting there in bed. If Waverly were going into the nursery to get him, that would be a different story. There is no way Nicole can stomach the idea of just ignoring her son’s crying knowing there won’t be anything done to fix it if she doesn’t get up off of her ass. So, she gets up.

“Hey, little man.” Nicole coos at Warner as she leans down and picks him up out of the crib.

He doesn’t stop crying.

She checks his diaper and he’s still dry, so that leaves her at a loss for anything to do besides walking him back into the bedroom where Waverly is waiting- correction, where Waverly is _sleeping_. She’s still propped up in a sitting position, head lolled to one side as she snores softly.

A stab of jealousy shoots through Nicole at the sight of her sleeping wife. This is not the kind of person Nicole wants to be, but Warner is crying and there’s nothing she can do to fix this. She honestly feels absolutely useless.

Waverly jolts awake after a particularly loud screech from Warner.

“Give him here.”  Waverly says, holding her hands out.

Nicole obliges and then swipes her cell phone off of the nightstand and walks out into the living room. The phone is ringing as she starts pacing in the still dark living room. Three rings until a tired voice answers.

“Nicole? Is everything okay?” Judy answers, sounding worried.

Nicole can’t answer immediately, suddenly choked by emotion. Apparently, that want to cry didn’t exactly go away and only got worse the second Nicole heard her mother’s voice.

“I can’t do this.” Nicole’s voice cracks.

“Oh, honey. It’ll be okay, just tell me what’s going on.” Judy prompts, voice reassuring.

Nicole can hear the rustling of fabric on the other end of the line and she wonders if her mother is getting out of bed to pace while she talks.

“He's never really happy, and I can’t even feed him and I feel awful. He just cries and cries, and Waverly's bleeding all over the place- what's that about?! I just- I can’t even really take care of my own son, and Waverly’s always pissed, and I was jealous that she _fell asleep_ ; who does that?!” Nicole ends up just spewing everything and hoping her mother managed to keep up.

“Okay, just breathe while I try to make sense of everything you just said.” Judy says.

There’s a pause as Judy thinks and Nicole breathes. Honestly, Nicole feels awful that she doesn’t even want to go back into their bedroom right now.

“Alright, the bleeding is normal after giving birth, so don’t worry about that unless Waverly starts to. And of course he cries, Nicole; that’s just what babies do! You need to remember that every discomfort is the worst thing he has ever felt in his life so far. And for god’s sake, use the breast pump your sister got you! That way Waverly can get more sleep when she really needs it, and you guys can actually switch off who is feeding him.”

Nicole listens as her mother speaks, and tries to calm her racing mind and overwhelming emotions by just focusing on the things her mom is trying to tell her.

“Okay, okay, I’ll do that.”

Nicole's not even really sure what she’s replying to anymore, but her eyes fall to the breast pump still in the box. It’s sitting lonely and almost mocking her in the corner by the front door, where they dropped it and promptly forgot about it when they came home from the baby shower.

“Nicole?” Judy asks, breaking Nicole out of her thoughts.

“Yeah, Mom?” Nicole asks, feeling awkward so she begins pacing again, having stopped to stare at the mocking box.

“It’ll be okay.”

Nicole opens her mouth to reply, but her mother continues.

“It's going to be hard- the hardest thing you are ever going to do- but you’ll get through it. You and Waverly make a good team and you’ve both got good heads on your shoulders. Things won’t be easy, but they’ll be okay. I don’t have any doubt that that little boy in there is in the very best hands possible.”

Nicole’s crying again.

“Thank you, Mom.” Nicole chokes out, overwhelmed by emotion.

“Just let it out, Sweetheart. It’s okay.” Judy says, voice gentle.

Nicole can’t help but feel six years old again, crying into her mother’s lap after a scraped knee or a particularly upsetting confrontation with her father. Her mom always seemed to know just how to make everything better, at least temporarily. It’s been the longest time since she’s felt like she truly needed her mom, but here she is, crying into the phone and feeling like a needy child again.

Finally, Nicole calms down enough to thank her mother again and eventually hang up the phone. Not before Judy reminds her that she can call her whenever she needs to, and that the offer extends to Waverly. Judy makes sure to stress that part about Waverly, and Nicole can’t help but smile.

Nicole eventually hangs up the phone and turns to go back into the bedroom, only to jump a mile when she sees Waverly standing in the doorway of the hallway.

“Shit, you scared me!” Nicole seethes in a harsh whisper as she notes Warner cradled in Waverly’s arms.

“I didn’t know where you went.” Waverly says, sounding so very tired.

“I’m right here. I called Mom.” Nicole says, holding up her cell phone.

“What did she have to say?” Waverly asks with a yawn.

“That we can do this- Oh, and that we should use the damn breast pump Hayley got us.” Nicole says with a sheepish grin as she glances over at the breast pump box before looking back at Waverly.

“Did she actually cuss? Because I would pay big money to hear that.” Waverly asks.

“No, that was my embellishing for effect.” Nicole admits.

She starts walking over to the front door to grab the breast pump, but Waverly calls her back before she can get very far.

“Come back here.”

Nicole turns to see Waverly holding her hand out to her.

“But I have to get the pump.” Nicole says, pointing to the box on the ground.

“It can wait just a few more minutes. Come here.” Waverly says, making a grabbing motion to beckon Nicole over.

Nicole obliges, walking over to her wife and son. Soon, they’re hugging- well, as much as they can with Warner fit snugly between them, not even stirring when Nicole approaches.

“I’ve missed you.” Waverly whispers, though Nicole is fairly certain Warner wouldn’t wake up for anything at this moment.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Nicole answers, voice as soft as Waverly's.

They stand there for a few seconds, Nicole’s hand on Waverly’s hip as they just breathe and exist and Nicole can’t help but feel that this small shared action is the two of them trying to find some equilibrium.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so awful, lately. Everything hurts, but that’s not an excuse, though. You haven’t deserved the way I’ve been acting, and I’m sorry for snapping so often and pretty much being awful to be around.” Waverly says, breaking the silence between them.

“I understand. We're both stressed to high hell and exhausted. Your body being a-” Nicole pauses looking down at her sleeping son and rethinks her wording, “-I understand why you’ve been on edge lately, and I know I haven’t been the greatest, either. I’m sorry for not helping out as much as I could be. I forgive you, though. Okay? I forgive you.”

There’s a pause as Waverly leans into her and they just stand there like before. Nicole is hard pressed to see the moment end, but of course it does.

Waverly breaks the silence again.

“You weren’t really going to give him formula, were you?”

Nicole pulls away from Waverly the slightest bit to look her in the eyes when she answers, “No, I wasn’t.”

“Okay, then I forgive you, too.” Waverly quips.

Nicole desperately wants to leave the conversation there, but she knows that she can’t. Waverly keeps going on about effective communication (which they have let slip a lot since Warner came home, admittedly), and Nicole wants to honor that.

“That’s why you should really start pumping, though. That way I can feed him when you’re busy or too tired or just whenever. That way I won’t feel so useless when he’s crying his head off because he’s hungry.” Nicole finally admits that last part, feeling dumb for saying it aloud, even though it’s all true.

“Nicole…” Waverly says her name softly, looking almost stricken.

She wants to say something in reply, but her brain just won't cooperate, and Waverly picks up the slack.

“I didn’t- you’re not useless!” Waverly says, forgetting to whisper, trying to get her point across.

“I feel like I am. I can’t even feed him when he’s hungry.” Nicole says, not making eye contact with Waverly now, instead looking down at Warner in Waverly’s arms.

“Well, I’ll start pumping and that won’t be an issue anymore.” Waverly says, voice lower now.

“He sure does seem to eat a lot, doesn’t he?” Nicole says, rubbing Warner's back before looking at Waverly.

“He is a _baby_ , Nicole. I’ll feed him when he’s hungry. Do not fatshame our son!” Waverly's tone is defensive now and Nicole can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the turn the conversation has taken.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Nicole laughs as she replies.

“What am I gonna do with you?” Waverly asks, shaking her head and smiling.

“Love me forever and ever?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage that.” Waverly says before leaning up and kissing Nicole.

Nicole remembers this exact exchange from their wedding reception and it feels fitting that they are having this moment now with their son between them, sleeping soundly. It’s a small, haphazard, sleep-deprived recreation in and of itself, and Nicole couldn’t ask for more, having her little family all together even as frazzled as she and Waverly are at the moment.

She thinks just maybe they do have a chance of getting their bearings, and then Warner starts crying again. Nicole starts the newest cycle of doubt all over again as she pulls away from Waverly and swipes the breast pump from the far side of the room, following Waverly and Warner into the bedroom.

* * *

 

“I’m not really sure about this…” Waverly says, trailing off.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” Nicole assures her, though still packing the diaper bag because Waverly hasn’t expressly told her to stop.

“I don’t know…” Waverly says, sounding even more doubtful than before, and Nicole finally pauses.

“Hey, it’s fine if you just want to call this off.” Nicole says, walking over to Waverly, who is holding Warner against her shoulder.

Waverly opens her mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by a burp from Warner.

“Guess someone’s been eating well.” Nicole says, laughing.

“He’s the only one of us functioning like they should be right now.” Waverly says, rubbing Warner’s back.

“Well, that’s why we were going to try this, right?” Nicole says, moving back over to the diaper bag.

“Yeah.” Waverly agrees, but doesn’t sound entirely convinced.

“They’ll just be in the next room; it’s okay. If they really need us, they can wake us up.” Nicole tries to reassure Waverly that this little plan of their will actually be worth the effort.

“Yeah, you’re right, I know you’re right...he’s just so tiny.” Waverly says, pulling her knees up and resting Warner’s back against them, her hand behind his head for support.

“We aren’t leaving him forever, or at all, in fact.” Nicole says, wrapping Warner’s tiny hand in her own, “Isn’t that right?” Nicole coos at Warner.

She is rewarded with eye contact- well, from one of his eyes, at least. The other is slow to follow, though it manages.

“You’re gettin’ there, Bud.” Nicole leans down and whispers into Warner’s ear before she peppers a few kisses to his cheek.

Warner squirms and gurgles in reply and Nicole can’t help but feel a bit of pride that he is reacting to her, even if it would seem small to someone else.

“Okay, okay, we can try this.” Waverly finally sounds resolved

“Good. This will be good for _all_ of us.” Nicole says, straightening up.

“So, do you need to go call them and tell them they can come over?” Waverly asks, looking up at Nicole.

“No, they’re already on their way.”

“What?!” Waverly exclaims, a bit louder than Nicole anticipated- and by the look on her face as she looks at Warner, _she_ was louder than she even anticipated.

“What? What’s wrong with that?” Nicole asks, innocently.

“They have to drive thirty minutes to get here. What if I had said no?” Waverly asks, before continuing without an answer, “Were you just going to call them up and have them turn around?”

“No, of course not.” Nicole says with a grin that Waverly clearly doesn’t understand, but she will in just a second as Nicole continues, “I’m sure Wynonna especially could find entertainment in town- namely at the local bar.”

“The bar _I run_ and she takes advantage of? Yeah, that would have ended well.” Waverly scoffs.

“Well that doesn’t even matter now, since you want to try this little experiment of ours out and they’re headed here.” Nicole says smugly.

The smugness lasts about two seconds before Waverly tosses a burp cloth at Nicole’s head.

“Hey, no fair!” Nicole says as she grabs the cloth off of her face.

“I was nice enough to not throw a used one.” Waverly counters.

Nicole starts laughing, laughing so hard her stomach starts to hurt. She's not even really sure what’s funny, but Waverly’s look of confusion only makes her laugh more and soon her laugher is void of sound. Waverly’s still confused, but she has started to laugh along, pointing at Nicole with her free hand before turning her attention to Warner and for some reason, laughing harder.

That’s how Wynonna, Doc, and Dolls find them; laughing hysterically at nothing in their bedroom. Nicole didn’t even get to finish packing the diaper bag.

“Okay, so they’ve clearly lost their minds,” Wynonna says, turning to Dolls and then Doc, who she then shoves the slightest bit forward, “Go grab the kid, but no sudden movements- the former Earp has been known to bite!”

“Oh, shut up, Wynonna. I was five and you kept stealing my toys for Willa, who then tortured them!” Waverly argues as Doc walks up beside her.

“That makes no difference, it still happened. I have the scar to prove it!” Wynonna shoots back, holding up her right hand.

“Oh my god!” Waverly groans, rolling her eyes.

“Waverly? Do you mind if I…?” Doc trails off, moving to take Warner, but stopping short as he waits for an answer.

“Just remember to support his head.” Waverly reminds Doc before handing her son over to him.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I read all the books I could in preparation for today.” Doc says, taking Warner and cradling him in his arms.

“Enjoy your time today, Cowboy because this is as close as you are gonna get to that whole experience.” Wynonna says, motioning to the baby in Doc’s arms.

Doc looks up at Wynonna briefly before Warner makes little noises and draws his attention back. He leans his face in closer as he speaks to the little boy in his arms. “What’s that, Buckaroo? You got somethin’ to say?”

“Oh, he is very opinionated, even at four days old.” Nicole pipes up from beside Doc.

“I would expect nothing less from your son, Haught.” Dolls says with a smile.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.” Nicole says.

“As you should.” Dolls says with the slightest nod.

“Okay, well, if we’re done here?” Wynonna ventures.

“I have to finish getting this bag all set up for you. I really don’t want you banging around my kitchen trying to find things while we’re trying to sleep. I’ve mostly got everything in here. Obviously, additional diapers and wipes and stuff are in the nursery, but there should be more than enough stuff in here to get you through a few hours.” Nicole says as she turns around and finishes packing the diaper bag.

“I mean, what could this little guy really do in just a few hours?” Wynonna asks.

Nicole and Waverly both scoff at the same time and then look over at each other, grinning.

“You’ll see.” Nicole says as she shoves the diaper bag in Wynonna’s hands.

“Well, that didn’t sound ominous at all.” Dolls says sarcastically, looking from Nicole to Waverly.

“There are a few bottles in the fridge. They’re labelled.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Wynonna says with a two finger salute towards her sister.

“Do not taste the bottles, Wynonna.” Waverly states, looking at her sister, seemingly more tired than just a second ago.

“What? Why am I the only one that’s directed at?” Wynonna asks, looking around the room

“Because you’re the only adult in this room that _would_ be curious enough to try breast milk.” Waverly replies.

“Whatever. Now that we’ve got the kid and all the supplies we could ever need, why don’t you two try to get some sleep?” Wynonna says, trying to exit the conversation and room. “Come on, let’s go.”  She says, motioning Doc out of the room.

He walks out of the bedroom and Dolls follows, with Wynonna trailing after them two of them.

“Okay, you two crazy kids get some sleep, yeah? We’ve got things under control out here.” Wynonna says with a wink before she closes the bedroom door behind her.

Nicole isn’t quite sure she believes Wynonna, but their bed looks so comfortable as she goes to sit down on it that she can’t exactly bring herself to call this whole thing off. She reminds herself that if Wynonna and the boys really do need either of them, they can come wake them up. And besides, Warner won’t be leaving the house.

“Time to sleep?” Nicole asks, a new wave of exhaustion hitting her as she makes the suggestion.

“Yes, please.” Waverly sighs, tugging Nicole down into a laying position on the bed as she goes to lay down, too.

Nicole sighs wordlessly as she lays down on the bed, spooning Waverly as much as she can without actually putting too much effort into the action. Everything she does right now needs to be as lowkey as possible, mainly because everything feels like it takes way too much effort. But she still wants Waverly close to her, that she knows for sure.

So, she tries.

Nicole closes her eyes and presses her face into her pillow. This feels so nice, knowing she won’t have to jump up to go get Warner in an hour or two. They can finally just sleep.

Which, of course, means that Nicole ends up just lying there, unable to actually fall asleep.

She doesn’t want to chance waking Waverly, so she just lays there for what feels like hours, but probably isn't even five minutes before Waverly sighs and then rolls over to face her.

“Can’t sleep?” Nicole asks, knowing the answer.

“Can’t sleep.” Waverly repeats in agreement, tone dour.

“Well, we can just lay here for a little while. They say it’s supposed to be good to just lie down and rest, even if you can’t really sleep.” Nicole says.

Waverly nods in agreement, “I mean, what other choice do we really have right now?”

Nicole closes her eyes and just breathes. She hears her breathing and Waverly’s together and it’s a comfort knowing that Waverly is right there, and they can finally relax, even if it’s the tiniest bit.

“Hey.” Waverly whispers.

Nicole opens her eyes, and grins as she looks at her wife, “Yes?”

“I missed you.” Waverly says as she leans in and closes the tiny distance between them placing a quick chaste kiss on Nicole’s lips.

“We haven’t even fallen asleep.” Nicole says, still smiling.

“Don’t care, still missed you.” Waverly says kissing Nicole again.

“Mm, well I missed you, too.” Nicole hums her reply, eyes still closed as she kisses Waverly again.

“Good.” Waverly says before peppering Nicole’s face with small kisses.

They keep it up, kissing innocently and just holding one another for a while until they both fall asleep. Nicole’s not even sure when they fell asleep or how long she has even been asleep. The last thing she remembers is kissing Waverly between every word of the phrase, “I love you so fucking much.”

She wakes up with Waverly rolled away from her, hair sprawled out on her pillow as she snores softly.

Nicole doesn’t move immediately. In fact, she ends up being lulled back to sleep by the sound of Waverly’s breathing. Though she’s almost certain she doesn’t sleep for long at all that time around when she wakes up. Finally, she pulls herself out of bed, careful not to wake Waverly, who really seems capable of sleeping through a trainwreck at this point.

Nicole checks the clock on her phone as she swipes it from the nightstand and heads out of the room. She stifles a yawn as she walks out into the living room. Once in the other room, she is greeted with the sight of Dolls holding Warner and grinning at him with Doc sitting next to them, cooing over the baby, while Wynonna flips through the channels on the TV, clearly dissatisfied with her choices.

“Hey, how’d it go?” Nicole says, walking over and taking Warner from Dolls.

“Fine. These two had a blast with him and he’s still in one piece, so I would call this an all-around success, wouldn’t you?” Wynonna asks, smirking “Unless you want to count all his fingers and toes?”

“Says the woman who was cooing over how he was so cute she could just eat him up the moment we got out of that bedroom.” Dolls says, looking over at Wynonna

“Not to mention kissing his feet and pretending to nibble them.” Doc adds, grinning in Wynonna’s direction.

“I am allowed to love on my nephew all I want!” Wynonna fires back, defensive as she climbs off of the couch.

“I believe you, why don’t we just leave it at that so you guys can go back to the homestead and finally bring my animals back home?” Nicole offers up.

“Oh damn, almost forgot about those two!” Wynonna says, then quickly adds, “Just kidding, we’ll bring the mongrel home.”

“And Whiskey.” Nicole reminds her.

“Okay, listen, I have two soulmates in this world: my motorcycle, and that cat. You wouldn’t break up soulmates, would you?” Wynonna almost pleads.

“Wynonna, give me back my cat!” Nicole bites out, leaving no room for argument.

“Fiiiine.” Wynonna whines before turning to her boyfriends, “What? Why are you guys giving me those looks?”

“So, Wynonna, if your soulmates are your motorcycle and that cat that won’t let us get three feet from her without hissing, then what, pray tell, does that make us?” Doc asks, eyebrows raised as he and Dolls stand up.

Wynonna walks up to Doc, hand on his chest, “A good time.”

Doc rolls his eyes so hard Nicole worries he might have strained something. Dolls on the other hand makes a noise in reply and Wynonna turns her attention to him, sidling up to him.

“And very, _very_ pretty.” Wynonna says, slapping Dolls’ ass.

“Okay, before this little show of yours goes any farther, get the hell out of my house and bring my pets back here!” Nicole says, ushering the three of them out of the house. “Oh, and take this with you. Get Orie to sniff it, but don’t leave it with him too long.” Nicole says as she hands Doc the pink baby blanket her mother made.

They’d been cycling the two blankets, knowing they would need to hand one off for Orie to get comfortable with Warner’s scent. However, neither Nicole nor Waverly could really handle the thought of parting with the blue blanket, given how attached they and Warner have already gotten to it.

“I told you we should have just brought the animals with us.” Dolls says, walking over to the SUV.

“Not now.” Wynonna says, following after him.

Nicole closes the door, shaking her head as she walks back into the house. She turns her attention to her son.

“Did you enjoy your time with Aunt Wynonna, Uncle Doc, and Uncle Dolls?” She asks, looking down at Warner.

He just squirms in her arms and then smiles at her. Which she knows is impossible at this age, so-

“Why is your face doing that? Hm?” She asks, and of course gets no response besides a bit more squirming. “Okay, well, why don’t we go into your room and check on that diaper of yours, Mister?”

Nicole walks him into the nursery and grabs a fresh diaper and a pack of wipes and places them atop the changing table before she sets Warner down on it.

“Let’s get this sleeper off of you, sound good?” Nicole asks, feeling a bit silly talking to her son who in no way can communicate back at this point, but she knows it should help. Everything she read (and Waverly read to her) focused heavily on communicating clearly to your baby, even before birth and to keep up the habit after, of course. So, she’s trying, even if she feels dumb doing it.

It doesn’t take long to get Warner’s sleeper off of him, though he protests the moment it comes off, whining and then full-on crying.

“I know, Buddy, I know. We’ll get you all cleaned up and then get you all nice and warm again, I promise.”

Nicole feels awful for just changing her son’s diaper. This is new.

She manages to get the dirty diaper off of him with just a minor issue or two as he squirms and wriggles. The real issue comes when he is fully exposed. It catches Nicole off-guard as he begins peeing, and unfortunately, hits her in the face with the spray. Nicole grabs for the dirty diaper, trying to fend off the unintentional attack.

She is trying desperately to keep calm and continue talking to him, though he is very unhappy at the moment, as is she.

“You got me there, Bud.” Nicole says, hoping she sounds calm as she picks him up, “But Mama definitely needs a bath after this.”

Nicole grabs a wipe and very gently begins wiping Warner’s diaper area, being especially careful due to his recent circumcision. “Okay, we’re just gonna get you clean and then diaper you up.” Nicole says, explaining what she’s doing as she goes.

“Okay, time for your jammies, Bubba.” Nicole says as she keeps one hand on Warner as she grabs a fresh sleeper and onesie.

“Let’s pull your little arm through the hole- oh look at you doing so well!” Nicole coos as she pulls the tops of the onesie down and then snaps it closed between his legs. “And now for your favorite thing, right? Your sleeper! Gonna be all nice and cozy in it, mhm, yes you will!” Nicole says, lifting Warner up and situating him so that she can actually get him fully clothed for the night.

It takes a bit of effort on her part because the moment Warner is lifted up, he goes into a little ball.

“Hey you little rollie pollie, you gotta help your Mama out here.” Nicole says, straightening one of his legs enough to get it situated into the leg of his sleeper and then moving to the other, “I know, Sweetheart, just a little bit longer.” Nicole says as he whines a little bit before finally getting him in the sleeper and zipping it up.

“Oh, there we go, all better now.” Nicole says as she picks him up and holds him against her shoulder, one hand under his butt, the other steadying his neck and head as she turns to leave the nursery. Only to jump about three feet when she spots Waverly in the doorway, smiling at them and then full-out laughing as she sees Nicole’s reaction.

“Jesus! We really need to get you a bell or something; that’s the second time in like a day!” Nicole says, walking up to Waverly.

“I am not your cat, Nicole!” Waverly argues, before continuing with a smirk tugging at her lips, “Come on, where are those cop reflexes of yours?”

“They dulled the second this little guy came into the picture.” Nicole says, bouncing Warner up the tiniest bit as if to emphasize her point.

“Well, maybe you should work on that.”  Waverly says, grabbing a wipe and wiping Nicole’s face clean.

“Yeah, well, _that one_ was completely out of my control.” Nicole says in her defense, grateful for Waverly’s assistance.

“Mm, mhm, okay.” Waverly hums, tossing the wipe into the diaper pail and then turning back to take Warner from Nicole.

Nicole pulls back, “No, I’ve got him, go get some more sleep, Baby.”

Nicole can see the pain cross Waverly’s face the the split second she let’s it be seen and tries to explain herself.

“It’s just- we need some Mama and baby bonding time, you know? I mean, is that okay?” Nicole asks, worried now that she may have upset Waverly more than first anticipated.

“Of course it’s okay, just let me know if you need anything.” Waverly says, leaning up and kissing Nicole, and then kissing the back of Warner’s head.

“Will do.” Nicole says, following Waverly out of the nursery.

They diverge at the hallway, Waverly going down towards the master bedroom and Nicole going out into the living room, only to move further into the house and head towards the kitchen. She can hear Waverly yell something into the room, but doesn’t actually catch what she says, so she moves back towards the hallway.

“What?!” Nicole calls out.

“I said, don’t forget to use the bottle warmer; microwave leaves hotspots!” Waverly yells again.

“Alright!” Nicole calls back in reply and then looks down at Warner, who has started fussing the slightest bit. “It’ll be okay, Bubba. We’ll get you some yummy food soon; don’t worry.”

Nicole is staring at the bottle warmer, frustrated at it’s slow pace, especially with a fussy, hungry baby in her arms, but she is determined to do this and besides, that it shouldn’t take an excruciatingly long time.

Finally, the bottle is ready, tested and everything, and Nicole starts feeding him- he quiets down the moment he finally realizes he can actually eat now. Soon, the only sounds in the house are that of the clock ticking and the soft suckling noises from Warner. Nicole can’t help but want this moment to last as long as humanly possible; everything still, everything calm.

Soon, Warner is finished with his bottle and Nicole burps him, bouncing him slightly as she sways  with him in her arms. He seems to be settling down nicely as Nicole hears a car pull into the driveway, and then the distinct sounds of Wynonna yelling, Orie barking, and Whiskey being very adamant that she absolutely hates the carrier.

So much for their quiet, peaceful moment.

Nicole calls Waverly into the living room once Wynonna drops the animals off, not much for parting words as she tries to extract herself from the chaos that has ensued as quickly as possible. Warner started crying the moment Wynonna walked into the house with a rambunctious Orie and a very loud and unhappy Whiskey.

Waverly tends to the animals, letting Orie out of his crate first and then moving to Whiskey, who immediately bolts underneath the couch once she’s freed. Orie went directly to Waverly, who was closest to him, but now he has seemed to pick up Warners scent and is trying in vain to get closer to him.

“Down, Orie!” Nicole yells above the fray and Orie complies, thankfully.

Waverly ushers him outside to wear him out and make sure he uses the bathroom before they put him in his crate for the night. Nicole finally calms Warner down by the time Waverly and Orie make their way back into the house.

Orie pads up to Nicole, still intrigued, but too tired to bounce off of the walls anymore. Nicole is eternally grateful to her wife for this turn of events. Carefully, Nicole sits down on the couch and pats the cushion beside her. Orie jumps up and Waverly grabs his collar, holding him back from jumping on Nicole and the baby.

“Gentle, Orie, gentle.” Nicole says softly.

The dog only moves a fraction closer, sniffing at Nicole and then focusing his attention on Warner. There is a second where Nicole actually thinks this will end relatively well until Orie’s nose makes contact with Warner’s cheek, and Warner screeches.

Orie clamors over himself trying to get off the couch and away from the baby. Waverly lets go of his collar and Orie runs off and into his crate. Neither Nicole nor Waverly try to coax Orie out of his crate again that night. Instead, Waverly just puts him up for the night, cooing a good night to the small dog like always.

“He’ll like you eventually.” Waverly says, patting the top of Orie’s crate before walking back over to Nicole and Warner.

“Do you want me-?” Waverly goes to ask something, but Nicole cuts her off.

"Get my phone out of my pocket and pull up something- maybe you singing to him will help?” Nicole asks, trying to jut her hip out so that Waverly can get the phone out of her pajama bottom pocket.

Waverly manages and puts Nicole’s phone in the dock on the side table next to the TV. It doesn’t take long for a song to start playing out of the speakers, and Nicole can’t help but smile, even if her son is decidedly unhappy at the moment.

_“ When the night has come_   
_And the land is dark_   
_And the moon is the only light we see_   
_No I won't be afraid_   
_Oh I won't be afraid_   
_Just as long as you stand, stand by me”_

It’s actually a cover Waverly insisted Nicole put on her phone- in fact, they played it a few times to Waverly’s belly, headphones positioned over her bump. It only seems fitting now that Waverly pulls it up. It seemed to calm Warner down before he was born, so Nicole hopes that it will do the trick.

Nicole sways with Warner in her arms as Waverly comes up behind her, arm on her lower back as Nicole turns into the contact and faces Waverly, who is singing to the soft music playing around them. The both sway slowly to the music and eventually Warner does start to calm down. The moment Waverly thinks she has the opportunity to stop singing before the song is over, Warner starts stirring again and Waverly continues the tune.

Finally, the music dies out and Waverly is only humming as she and Nicole head to the nursery, Nicole following the sound of her wife’s humming. Nicole shifts her weight from one foot to the other as she stands next to Warner’s crib, unwilling to put him down just yet.

Eventually she does relent to actually needing to place him down to sleep, though he’s soundly sleeping at the moment. Nicole knows she can’t stay there all night, even if there is a part of her that wants to do just that.

He goes down into the crib easily, not even stirring as he is placed on his back. Nicole places her hand on his chest as she leans down and smiles as she feels his strong little heartbeat under her hand- a welcome and unwavering comfort all in itself. Nicole steps back as Waverly moves forward, running a finger though Warner’s little tuft of hair, she gently kisses his cheek and lingers there a second or two before she pulls back up from him.

Nicole doesn’t want to move, and it seems neither does Waverly as neither of them make any sort of motion for the doorway of the nursery. They stand there, Nicole’s hand on the small of Waverly’s back as they look down at Warner, sleeping peacefully.

Nicole leans into Waverly and kisses her temple.

“We love you, little boy,” Nicole says, only for Waverly to finish,

“To the Moon and back.”

Finally, they walk back to their room, Nicole’s body already feeling heavy with the overwhelming need to sleep. She may have gotten a bit more rest than usual, but it was nowhere near enough for as much as she has been losing out on, lately. She climbs into bed next to Waverly and spoons her, smoothing Waverly’s hair to the side and kissing the back of her neck.

“Love you.” Nicole mumbles into Waverly’s skin.

“Love you, too.” Waverly replies, leaning back into Nicole.

Soon enough, Nicole is jolted awake as Warner’s cries swim through the room from the baby monitor. Nicole moves to get up, but Waverly pulls her back down before she can get very far.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get him.” Waverly mumbles.

Nicole doesn’t argue, the bed looking far too inviting to fight against crawling back into it. Nicole is almost asleep, she can feel her body get heavier as she closes her eyes. At least Warner has stopped crying.

“NICOLE!”

Waverly’s screaming, that’s all Nicole really knows for sure as she scrambles out of bed and books it the small distance to the nursery, only to find Waverly there, clutching at Warner’s baby blanket that should be hanging over the side of the crib. Nicole can’t exactly process why it’s on the ground, or what’s going on- until she sees the empty crib.

Nicole is out of the house with her gun drawn staring down the road at a receding figure with a bundle in it’s arms. They’re too far down the road, too far to be humanly possible. Nicole can vaguely hear Waverly’s screams, regardless of their close proximity, as she collapses to her knees in the street.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the hunt for Warner is on!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make you aware, there are graphic depictions of violence in this chapter

Waverly’s heart is hammering against her chest as she stands in the middle of the road, Oakley aimed at the stop sign at the now-empty end of the street. She doesn’t know what’s going on, but her heart feels like it’s fallen into her feet at the realization that there is nothing to shoot, no way to stop the very real monsters in this god forsaken town.

“Nicole! Nicole, come on, get up! We have to go after them! NICOLE!” Waverly drops the sawed-off shotgun to her side as she tries to rouse her wife from the spot she sank to on the asphalt.

It’s not working.

“Nicole, get your ass up, NOW!”

Waverly doesn’t care if the neighbors hear. Let them. It doesn’t matter- not that there are even that many neighbors to speak of. Purgatory is a small town; too small. Whoever it was can’t run far- Waverly already knows where the Revenants’ square footage ends and she will burn this fucking town to the ground if that’s what it takes to get her baby back to her safely.

“Get up!” Waverly yells, grabbing Nicole by the collar and finally hoisting her up to her feet.

“I couldn’t- he was too far away.” Nicole says, her voice hollow.

“You saw who it was? Who was it?” Waverly’s words are out of her mouth in a rush and she’s not sure Nicole kept up. In fact, she’s not entirely sure if Nicole is even processing what is happening.

Not that Waverly is honestly doing much better, but she has a fire raging in her chest and she intends to feed that fire until every Revenant in this town pays for even thinking they could do this to her family again. She’s determined to go through every single one of them personally, and she is not intending on asking them to make their peace. She doesn’t care if they find peace, she wants them to burn in Hell, she wants to _send_ them there.

Bobo told her once that she has depths neither of them knew the bottom of. Well, now is about damn time to find out just how deep this rage of hers actually goes.

“I couldn’t see his face. I’m sorry, I’m _so sorry._ I tried-” Nicole’s voice cracks and she cuts herself off, too choked up to continue.

“It’s okay, Baby. We’ll get him back. We’re going to get him back.” Waverly softens, hands holding Nicole’s face, searching her features as if there is some answer in her wife’s eyes.

But the moment the words leave her mouth, Waverly knows they’re true. They are going to get their son back, even if she has to tear apart every inch of Purgatory to do so.

“Just wait here, okay? Just wait here, I’ll be right back.” Waverly says before she runs back into the house and swipes Nicole’s keys off of the coffee table.

Soon she’s back outside, slamming the front door behind her as she goes. The keys in her hand dig into the skin of her palm and Waverly can’t help but find some strange comfort in the pain. She heads over to the truck and she can feel Nicole’s eyes following her. A few seconds later, she can feel Nicole behind her- not pressed against her, but the body heat is hard to mistake in this weather.

“Come on, we’ve got to go.” Waverly says, unlocking the truck and climbing into the driver’s side.

Nicole doesn’t even protest as she walks to the passenger side and climbs in. Waverly adjusts the seat for a second before she’s turning the engine over and peeling out of the driveway with a screech of tires.

No one is going to pull them over and if they try...well, God help anyone who might try.

“We don’t know where they went.” Nicole says, still sounding too far away for Waverly’s liking.

“I know.” Waverly snaps.

She doesn’t glance over at Nicole. Instead, she just presses harder on the gas pedal and hopes that Purgatory’s sleepy facade holds up until they get where they’re going.

“We just passed the police station.” Nicole points out.

Waverly can see Nicole looking out the window, but she doesn’t bother responding. There is no way in Hell she is going to even attempt to make her case with Purgatory’s finest. The only cop Waverly needs right now is sitting next to her in the cab of this very truck, and given how shell-shocked she is at the moment, Waverly is going to take a hard pass on telling Nedley about demons.

“Waverly! We just passed-!”

“We’re not going there.” Waverly states, pressing down harder on the gas pedal, taking a deep satisfaction in the rev of the engine.

“What? What are you talking about?! I’m a fucking cop, Waverly! We have to-” Nicole tries again.

Waverly doesn’t have the patience for this.

“What we _have_ to do, Nicole, is get to the homestead and get Peacemaker- you know, the only fucking gun that can send them to Hell? I am not about to sit around filling out fucking paperwork while some Revenant-”

Damn, she was doing so well, too.

It’s starting to hit her that this is really happening: that Warner is actually gone- no, she doesn’t have time to fall apart; there isn’t any fucking _time_. Waverly takes a deep breath and just floors the fucking gas pedal. She’s trying to ignore just how shaky her breathing is.

She knows how to shove down her emotions- she has had years of practice.

Waverly runs a red light on her way out of town and she hears Nicole scoff beside her. Suddenly, she needs to _do_ something. Something other than just sit here and get lost in her own head.

“Turn the radio on.” Waverly says, and then thinks to add, “Please.”

Nicole actually complies and then Waverly is at least given something else to focus on, the sound of Nicole flipping through stations. It’s a small distraction, but it’s the only one that really feels like it’s enough.

Waverly continues to focus on the empty road in front of her and the sound of the radio crackling the further they get out of town. She knows this rage in her won’t die anytime soon, but she has to try to keep it in check and not lash out at Nicole, who actually hasn’t done anything wrong.

With that thought, she reaches out for Nicole’s hand.

Nicole doesn’t pull away. It’s a start, one Waverly is grateful to have.

“We’re going to find him and bring him home.”

It’s become a mantra in her head and saying the words out loud seems to only solidify them as truth.

“I know.” Nicole answers with a squeeze of Waverly’s hand.

Dirt flies as Waverly turns hard into the makeshift driveway of the homestead. She doesn’t waste any time throwing the truck into park and clamoring out of it, stalking towards the front door.

The doorknob turns without resistance- there's no one they can’t face out here with the small arsenal patiently waiting inside. Besides, Willa doesn’t like locks.

“Wynonna! Willa!” Waverly yells inside as she steps over the threshold. Her voice sounds frantic, even to her.

Willa’s at the top of the stairs so fast Waverly’s almost certain she wasn’t sleeping. The moment their eyes lock, Willa is running down the stairs towards her. It’s when Willa gets to the bottom of the stairs that Wynonna’s voice breaks the tense silence that had fallen just a few seconds before.

“What’s going on? Waverly? What the hell are you two doing here?” Wynonna asks, disheveled, half-dressed, and now on high alert.

“Wynonna…” Waverly’s voice cracks at the sight of her big sister.

Suddenly, she feels six years old again and she’s hoping that Wynonna can just pull something out of her ass to fix this. Fix everything that’s gone to Hell so quickly that Waverly’s certain it’s given her whiplash.

Her family... none of them will ever be the same again.

“What? What is it, babygirl? What’s going on?” Wynonna asks, bounding down the stairs, skipping a few in her haste.

“Revenants-” Waverly can’t continue, too choked up.

She feels Nicole's hand on her arm and then Nicole is walking forward and she doesn’t seem so lost anymore. But now Waverly’s the one that feels too far away from everything.

“Warner’s gone. Revenants took him.” Nicole says, voice even.

“What?!” Wynonna yells, looking from Nicole to Waverly.

“I need Peacemaker.”  Waverly says, turning to Willa.

“Oh my god. No, no, nonononono!” Willa’s eyes are wide and showing far too much white and even in the dim light filtering in from the living room, Waverly can see her sister’s gone white as a sheet. She knows they have just stepped in over a decade of Willa’s trauma.

But they don’t have time for this so Waverly tries to trudge forward and snap Willa out of this with facts.

“Willa, I need-” She doesn’t get any farther than that.

“Did you kill him? Are we sure he’s dead? I mean- this can’t be- you said he was dead, Wynonna! You told me you killed him- he can’t be-”

“Willa- Willa, look at me.” Wynonna says, hands hovering just above Willa’s arms.

Willa keeps muttering to herself, decidedly _not_ making eye contact with Wynonna or anyone for that matter, too lost in her head.

“He has to be dead. You told me you killed him!” Willa says, voice going higher in pitch with her panic.

“Bobo _is_ dead. Listen to me, I shot him in the head and sent him to Hell and he won’t ever be coming back if I have any say in this.” Wynonna assures her sister.

Nicole speaks up, stepping up in front of Waverly as she talks.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the… _Delicate_ situation here, but this-”

Waverly doesn’t stick around to listen. Instead, she takes the opportunity given to her and heads upstairs. Getting into Willa’s room isn’t difficult, the issue comes when Waverly has to try and find where Peacemaker could be stashed.

In all honesty, Willa has only recently started to actually put Peacemaker away when at the homestead. For the longest time, she had the gun glued to her side, not able to accept that the ammolite was actually working again. It was only after Wynonna insisted that it was safe did Willa start to let up the tiniest bit, but she did drag a Revenant to the homestead to see for herself. Waverly couldn’t stick around very long for that little scene- it might have been a Revenant, but torture all _sounds_ the same when you get down to the bare bones.

“If I were severely traumatized and hyper paranoid with shaky memories of my past, where would I keep a gun?” Waverly mutters to herself as she scans over Willa’s room.

It still feels weird to be in here- they practically made it a shrine to the facade of Willa’s childhood. It still looks the same; Willa hasn’t actually done anything to the room, it’s a point that feels fixed in time. Waverly shudders and then tries to refocus herself.

She checks the drawers, but finds nothing other than clothes fit for thirteen-year-old Willa. Waverly moves on to the closet, but nothing there, either. She’s standing in the middle of the room feeling a bit hopeless until her eyes land on the bed.

She dives for the pillow, only to wrap her hand around the butt of the gun.

“Willa…” Waverly whispers, voice full of a regret that hits her down to her core.

She doesn’t linger long, though. She has Peacemaker; she has the key to getting her son back, and she’s not about to waste time sitting around in the room of ghosts past and seemingly present, given how Willa was doing when Waverly left them.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Willa says from behind Waverly, causing her to jump.

“I’m going to that fucking trailer park and getting my son back.” Waverly answers, that fire burning up in her chest again, a welcome pain.

“You can’t.” Willa bites back in reply.

“Like Hell I can’t.” Waverly says, pushing past her big sister.

“Waverly!” Willa grabs Waverly’s arm to try and told her back.

“Let go of me.” Waverly growls out, leaning into Willa’s personal space, their faces just inches apart.

“It won’t work for you.” Willa’s voice softens.

Waverly knows that. Of course she _knows_ that, but hearing it aloud hits her like a punch to the gut. She doesn’t want Willa to be right.

“We don’t know that for sure. It could just-”

“Waver-” Wynonna’s voice cuts through, dying out into a whisper as her eyes flick down to Peacemaker and then back up to meet Waverly’s gaze “-ly”

“I am going to get my son back if I have to personally send all thirty Revenants that are left back to Hell.” Waverly states, pulling her arm out of Willa’s grip, “And hey, I can get them all in one night.”

Wynonna moves to stand directly in her way.

“You can’t, Waverly. You _know_ you can’t.”  Wynonna says, her voice cracking the slightest bit.

“I can damn well try.” Waverly says, trying to move past Wynonna, only to be met with Nicole coming up behind her sister.

“It won’t even shoot for you. Peacemaker-”

Waverly has had enough.

“Will you just shut the fuck up, Wynonna?!”

A strained silence falls over all of them and Waverly knows down to her bones that she will not be leaving this house with Peacemaker in her hands.

Wynonna doesn’t say anything, she just looks so damn apologetic as she wordlessly takes Peacemaker gently from Waverly’s hand.

She doesn’t even fight it.

“We have to wait a second and actually think up a plan of attack.” Wynonna finally says, her voice almost as apologetic as her eyes.

“We don’t _have_ a second! Every minute we waste here talking, they have my _baby_ , Wynonna! He’s with those fucking demons and I can’t just _leave_ him there!” Waverly starts again, trying to make everyone in this goddamn room see sense.

“Waverly…” Nicole trails off.

She locks eyes with her wife for a few seconds only to push past everyone, Nicole included, and head downstairs.

“Where are you going?!” Nicole yells after her.

Waverly can hear Nicole’s footsteps behind her, but she doesn’t bother to look back when she replies, “If I can’t send them to Hell, I can at least bring it to them!”

Getting into the barn was easy, and finding the guns still stashed there was easier, but trying to stand there and give Nicole some answers is proving to be hard.

“What _was_ that just now? You’re not the only one who wants to find him, you know. But we have to have some sort of plan or we’ll all get _killed,_ Waverly!”

Waverly's not listening, not really. She hears the words coming out of Nicole's mouth. She hears the desperation, the anger, the fear, but she’s not _really_ listening. Instead, she’s focused on her breath, the small puffs of fog coming out right in front of her as she trudges back into the house with Nicole on her tail.

“It’s so cold tonight. He hates the cold… Nicole, what if they don’t keep him warm enough? What if-” Her next sentence dies in her throat.

There is no way she’s going to chance giving the universe the opportunity to make her fears a reality, and speaking them aloud feels like giving the universe permission, somehow.

Nicole’s hand is on her shoulder and then suddenly Waverly’s face is buried in Nicole’s chest and she's clinging to her wife for dear life. She wanted the rage to last a little longer, but Waverly knows it will come back. It always does.

“We’ll get him back safe and sound.” Nicole whispers in Waverly’s ear.

She's going to hold on to the certainty in Nicole’s voice with everything she has until Warner is safely back in her arms, where he belongs.

Waverly just nods and then they’re heading back into the house, escaping the biting cold. She can’t help but look back behind her at the dark expanse of the homestead's grounds. Everything seems so unforgiving right now- her and Nicole most of all.

Willa and Wynonna are waiting in the living room for them. She almost misses Doc and Dolls somehow, even though they’re sitting on the couch, up and decidedly alert.

“Oh good, you brought toys.” Wynonna says as she takes one of the guns from Waverly and hands it over to Dolls.

“So, you said we needed a plan. I’m all ears.” Waverly bites out her words, long given up patience.

“Well, we know a Revenant took him and since they don’t exactly have much in the way of real estate aside from the shithole trailer park, that makes tracking him down easy.” Wynonna says, walking back over to Waverly.

“Okay, so what’s the hard part? I mean, we have Peacemaker.” Nicole says from beside Waverly, gesturing towards Willa, who is holstering the gun in question.

That fire in Waverly’s chest flares to life again at the sight of Peacemaker. _She_ should have been heir. Out of the three of them, she is the most qualified and yet she is the only one with absolutely no hope of ever sending Revenants to Hell. She is destined to play the sidekick and it twists her stomach into knots. Not this time, though; this is her damn narrative.

“The hard part is that the Revenants that are still around are armed to the teeth, and their new leader is a raging paranoid.” Wynonna clarifies.

“What new leader? You never told me that they actually got around to picking anyone new after Bobo.” Waverly asks, defenses all the way up.

She flicks her eyes to Willa at the mention of Bobo, but there is no reaction to be seen. Willa’s got soldier face on and normally Waverly would be trying to coax Willa back from that edge where she completely loses herself. But god help her, it's useful right now.

Ward Earp did one thing right. When he broke his daughters, he broke them completely. He never did half-ass anything, aside from fatherhood.

“He wasn’t deemed a threat and he only stepped up to the position in the last couple of months.” Dolls says, “We didn’t see a point in notifying you-”

Waverly doesn’t wait to hear anymore.

“Oh, great. Did everyone know about this?!” Waverly asks, throwing her hands in the air, “Did _you_ know about this?” She asks, turning to Nicole who looks just as lost as she feels.

“No.” Nicole answers, voice soft, as if she is trying to calm a cornered animal and frankly, that’s exactly how Waverly feels right now.

“Well fan-fucking-tastic! Everyone in this room aside from the ones with a baby knew about the new head Revenant in town!” Waverly yells, looking over the rest of the group.

“You had so much to deal with, Waves. We didn’t want to upset you-” Wynonna starts in, voice gaining a slight edge.

“Well guess what, Wynonna? I _am_ upset! They took my fucking _baby_ and I AM UPSET!” Waverly yells, moving into Wynonna's personal space.

“I know.” Wynonna whispers her reply

Waverly wanted more of a fight out of her sister, and not getting one only frustrates her more.

“So what the _fuck_ are you going to do to fix it?” Waverly seethes, trying to get a rise out of Wynonna.

“We’re going in there with a plan-” Wynonna starts, but Waverly cuts her off with a dry, hollow laugh.

“You? Plan? Oh _this_ is gonna be good.” Waverly scoffs.

Nicole's hand is on her arm, pulling her back, and Waverly turns towards her.

“Waverly, stop, this isn’t helping anything.”

“We were supposed to be _safe_ , Nicole! You promised we’d be safe!” Waverly's voice cracks and she hates herself for it.

“I know, I know, I tried-” Nicole answers, sounding broken.

At least that makes two of them.

“Well _clearly_ you didn’t try hard enough because now our son has been kidnapped by literal fucking _demons_!” Waverly continues, fueling that fire in her chest, giving it a renewed life.

“And whose fault is that, Waverly?! Pretty sure they wouldn’t have come after us, our _son_ , if it wasn’t for you and your damn family curse! It’s not even _your_ curse; you’re not an Earp!” Nicole's found her bite and Waverly can’t help but take satisfaction in the fight.

“Oh, so you think I’m not standing here blaming myself?!” Waverly screams, gesturing to herself.

“How could _anyone_ think that when all you’re doing is blaming everyone else?! It's NOT OUR FAULT!”

Nicole’s words hang between them and Waverly just lets them. Her wife’s not wrong. All she's been doing since they got here is letting her rage eat her and everyone else near her alive.

This isn't productive. It isn’t going to get them to Warner any faster. In fact, it's delaying the process.

“It’s not your fault, either.” Nicole says in a whisper, not making eye contact with Waverly, now.

It _feels_ like it's her fault. That’s good enough for Waverly’s guilt to take it and run with it, even if it's not actually her doing. It still feels like it’s all her fault.

Suddenly that rage gives way to all of the overwhelming sadness and Waverly lets herself feels the magnitude of it for just a second until she shoves it down again. That won’t help her, either. Falling apart never helps; Ward taught her that.

“What’s the plan?” Waverly asks, turning to Wynonna.

* * *

Waverly’s breath fogs in front of her in little puffs. Her heart is hammering against her chest as she waits, ducked behind a rusted out truck, for the signal. Oakley is tucked beside her, safety decidedly off, though her finger is not poised on the trigger. Not yet. There will be plenty of time for that in just a few more minutes.

She’s not willing to show any mercy, and she's glad no one stupidly suggested as much.

Everyone wants to tear these Revenants apart, Waverly knows that. But none of them have the fire in their chests like she and Nicole do. Not the same type, at least. They all have anger. They all have rage, but not the same kind.

It’s taking everything in Waverly to not move now, to not run straight for Bobo's old trailer. Her grip around her gun tightens, every muscle poised to move, to run, to get to where she needs to be the second the signal comes.

Thankfully, the wait isn’t any longer. Waverly doesn’t even flinch when a row of cars explode without warning.

“Welcome to the party, fuckers.” Waverly whispers to herself as she watches the Revenants run towards the explosion, flaming husks of vehicles illuminating their faces.

She waits just a few more seconds and then she's running in a full sprint towards the trailer. Of course their little show was supposed to distract the Revenants, but she’s not exactly sure if everyone has been able to keep up their part of the plan.

Her hand wraps around the handle of the trailer door and she pulls it open. Waverly feels that fire full of rage spark to life again as she climbs in.

It's bigger than she first expected, honestly. But there is really only so much space inside, meaning this should be easy.

“Took you long enough. Really thought you’d get here sooner. Though I hafta say, good job on that little firework show out there. Didn’t actually see that one coming.”

Waverly’s stomach rolls as she comes face to face with the new head Revenant, Johnny Ringo. She doesn’t bother to reply, instead she just aims Oakley at his chest.

That earns her a laugh.

“What do you think that's going to do? It’s not going to send me to Hell!” Johnny barks. Even just his laughter sets Waverly on edge.

“It can still hurt you, dumbass. Wanna see how much?” Waverly asks, smirking.

His eyes narrow before he grins, showing teeth “You’re really that desperate, aren’t you?”

“Try me.” Waverly bites out her words, pushing the barrel of Oakley into his chest.

“You Earps never have had any patience.” Johnny drawls, sounding almost bored.

Waverly's a bit taken aback, forgetting that not everyone has been privy to the truth about her lineage.

“Is that why you took him? Is _that_ why you took my son?! Trying to cut the Earp line off early?!” Waverly yells, not caring if anyone outside hears.

The rest of the group have things handled, given the sounds of gunfire and quips coming through the walls of the trailer, muffled though they are.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one, Waverly? Guess the bar was set pretty low, given Wyatt and the rest of your lot. I really thought you would’ve picked this up sooner.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Waverly says, pulling the gun back slightly.

“I’m not telling.” Johnny says, putting his pointer finger to his lips.

Waverly doesn’t even hesitate when she pulls the trigger, shooting Johnny in the kneecap, blowing it out. He screams in pain as his legs give out. Waverly kicks him off balance, his back slamming to the floor of the trailer.

“Feeling a bit more talkative now?” Waverly asks, looking down at Johnny, her foot pressing against his chest.

“Burn in Hell, Earp bitch!” Johnny growls out, eyes going red and voice twisting.

“You know, there never was any proof that Wyatt killed you, but I suppose you being here right now is proof enough.” Waverly muses, ignoring the growling from below her.

Johnny opens his mouth to say something, but Waverly just shoves the barrel of her gun in his mouth instead.

“Hm, what was that? Not sure I heard you, you need to _speak up_ -” Waverly jerks the gun up, dragging Johnny’s head up with it, “-Johnny boy!”

She pulls the gun out of his mouth, only to slug it against the side of his face. It won’t do as much damage as she’d like, but she can’t actually render him speechless; she still needs answers.

He spits out blood, the dark, too-thick liquid spraying against the floor of the trailer. Waverly waits for him to collect himself enough to answer. She has to pace herself, she needs answers and he has them. This is a waiting game as much as it’s a ‘make him scream in agony’ game.

“Where. Is. My. _Son_?!” Waverly asks, biting out every word.

Johnny doesn’t reply immediately, he just fixes her with a glare, one that turns Waverly’s stomach. She wants to beat him senseless. She wants to make him pay for what he has put her family through. She wants to do so much more than just wait for him to open that worthless mouth of his.

“I’m not _telling_!” Johnny seethes, spitting blood up at Waverly.

“Guess you need some more incentive, then?” Waverly asks, pulling her foot up from his chest only to bring it down hard on the kneecap she blew out only minutes before.

The resulting screams only feed the fire in her chest. She is going to get her fucking answers, even if she has to tear him apart slowly to get them- _especially_ if she has to tear him apart to get them.

“This is only going to slow me down, it won’t stop me, you stupid bitch!”

Waverly shoves the butt of her gun in his face and she jerks forward when he grabs for it, catching it in his hands. One good kick to his already injured leg loosens his grip and Waverly pulls Oakley free.

“Ready to talk?” Waverly asks, grinding her foot into his wound further, distantly hoping to hit to the floor.

“Watching you fall apart is too much fun.” Johnny says with a sick, wet laugh.

“Have it your way.” Waverly growls before moving and aiming Oakley at Johnny’s other kneecap, not even hesitating before pulling the trigger.

His screams seem to fill every inch of the trailer and Waverly can’t help but take some deep, sick satisfaction in the sound. Maybe Bobo wasn’t entirely off about her after all. Not that she ever doubted it; not really. She knew there was truth in what he told her; she was angry the moment he called her as much. She brushed it off as indignation of him pretending he knew anything about her, but deep down, she knew he was right- she just couldn’t admit it, until now.

Waverly leans over Johnny, pulling him up the slightest bit by his hair as she speaks, her words soft and eerily calm. She wonders if this is how Willa feels when she loses herself. If so, she can finally understand the appeal.

“Now, you going to give me some answers, or should I drag your ass across the Ghost River boundary? Hm? Seems fitting enough. God knows you deserve it.”

She keeps hold on him, watching his eyes widen in fear for a split second.

“You really don’t even grasp the magnitude of what's going on around you, do you? You think you’ve got this all figured out, huh? You’re not even close to the truth!”

Waverly doesn’t reply. She just lets him talk, hoping he’ll slip up and reveal everything she wants to know.

“You Earps. So full of your righteous anger, you can’t even realize when you’re running blind! You know it was so damn _easy_ to get into your house? The freak you shacked up with? He’s clearly lacking in so _many_ departments!”

Her grip on her gun tightens and then she’s cocking it and aiming just a bit further up.

“I don’t really think you have any room to be talking about who is lacking what.” Waverly quips.

“What-”

She cuts him off with a shot to his crotch.

More screaming.

“Tell me where my son is!” Waverly yells above his wordless agony.

“There are fates worse that death and your gun, little girl!” Johnny bites back in reply, “And _she_ is definitely one of them!”

“You wanna test that fucking theory? I’m not out of ammo yet, you piece of shit!” Waverly yells, shoving the barrel of the gun into Johnny’s face. “Now tell me where my son is!”

“Shh, do you hear that?” Johnny says, going quiet and straining to hear whatever it is.

Waverly initially doesn’t pay him any mind, shoving the barrel of her gun into his face harder, shifting his head to the side, gun pressed to his cheek.

“Come on, listen, little girl! You might _learn_ something!” Johnny says with a laugh, his words mangled by the gun at his cheek.

Finally, Waverly relents and stills, listening to the sounds from just outside the trailer. There isn’t much to be heard aside from the sound of gunfire and the sound of Revenants being dragged to hell. Waverly wonders just how many they’ll be left with after tonight.

“I don’t-” Waverly starts, but she is cut off as Johnny laughs again.

“It’s the sound of you _never_ finding that little mistake of yours.”

Waverly aims the gun between his eyes and he continues to laugh.

“That won’t send me to Hell, little girl!” More laughter, the sound drowning out everything else. “I don’t even know why Constance even wanted the damn thing; all it did was cry. Oh, did I hit a nerve, Waverly? All that stupid little thing did was cry and cry- oh! Maybe it misses you-”

She drowns out his laughter by emptying the last five rounds into his skull.

“HE IS NOT AN IT!” Waverly screams as the gun clicks, empty in her hands.

She doesn’t even realize she’s not alone in the trailer until Nicole’s hands are around her wrists, pulling her back and out of the trailer. She sees Wynonna run past her into the trailer, but nothing actually registers for a time. Everything is hazy and nothing is solid except for Nicole’s arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly to her chest.

Waverly can’t stop crying; it feels like a literal impossibility at this point. She finally let that fire burn her up entirely, and now all that she’s left with are the ashes of all of her mistakes choking her. She couldn’t keep her family safe. It’s her fault they were even in danger in the first place. She’s ruined absolutely everything, and there is no way she will ever stop crying.

“It’s not your fault.” Nicole keeps chanting that over and over again, and finally Waverly’s mind has caught up enough to process it. Though that doesn’t make it true.

“It’s not your fault, Baby. It’s not your fault-” Nicole pulls back the slightest bit and Waverly finds herself clutching at Nicole’s arms as if she is the only solid thing on this planet. Because right now, she is, “Look at me, Waverly. This is _not_ your fault.”

She can’t loosen her grip on Nicole’s arms and suddenly she can’t face the prospect of actually facing anyone, not even Nicole. So she just pulls Nicole close, folding herself into Nicole’s body heat and trying to pretend like that is enough.

“It’s not your fault. I swear, it’s not your fault. I am so sorry.” Nicole says, her voice steady and comforting in ways Waverly’s not sure she deserves, but she finds herself craving them anyway.

“Shh, sh, you’re okay. You’re going to be okay. We’re going to get him back, I swear we are going to get him back.” Nicole just keeps talking and Waverly thinks distantly that she might be able to find her way back home if Nicole just keeps it up.

They stand there in the middle of the burning trailer park, Waverly’s eyes fixed to a still-flaming car. There are depths to herself that even she still doesn’t know, and frankly, she’s not about to go looking into the abyss again anytime soon. Not now. Not given how utterly hopeless everything feels in this moment.

It’s as if there is this gaping hole in her chest, boring down into her fucking soul at this point. She was supposed to keep him safe. That was her job and she failed him, and now...now he’s not even here. He could be anywhere. He could be-

Waverly pulls back from Nicole and looks her in the eyes. Tear tracks stain Nicole’s face, and Waverly knows her own echos as much. At least their grief can look the same, sometimes.

“He’s not here. The Stone Witch has him.” Waverly states, her voice sounding hollow, even to her own ears.

“You ready to burn this motherfucker to the ground?” Nicole asks.

Waverly can almost see the fire burning behind Nicole’s eyes. She knows she shouldn’t take comfort in that fact, but it’s there nonetheless.

* * *

* * *

The baby has been crying for a while now and he can’t seem to be soothed, despite best efforts.

“I know, I know. It’s so cold out tonight, but we're inside and Mommy will make sure you’re nice and warm.”

More crying, even as she hums and sways, rocking him gently as she moves.

“ _Rock a bye baby_  
 _Do not you fear_  
 _Nevermind baby_  
 _Mommy is here_  
 _From the high rooftops_  
 _Down to the sea_  
 _No one's as dear  
As baby to me.”_

Constance keeps humming and swaying before placing Warner down into the cradle she never thought she would be able to use again. It may not be for _her_ boys, but this one will do. He’ll grow into it with time, at the very least.

“I know it’s so big, but you’ll grow into it, my little prince. Now hush while Mommy prepares your bottle.” Constance coos as she rubs his tummy and then flicks her other wrist as the aforementioned bottle soars towards her hand and she catches it.

She upturns the bottle and presses the nipple to her wrist, checking the temperature. “Ah, just right. Come on, now. Open up.”

She places the bottle between his lips and then Warner is suckling at it greedily. “Good boy. That’s all you wanted, wasn’t it? Mommy knows what you need and she’s going to make sure you never want for anything else. In this life or the next.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunt for Warner continues even with the odds seeming to stack against them

In all honesty, Nicole wasn’t even sure if they were going to head home. But here they are, headed back to Purgatory.

Waverly’s absently playing with the radio dial, the volume turned up louder than normal. Nicole doesn’t mind; the sound tends to drown out her thoughts a bit.

The trailer park is a burnt husk of what it used to be. There are still Revenants crawling around- there were too many to send to hell with just one gun- but that's not to say they came out of it unscathed. In fact, they set off another round of explosions before they left, these in individual trailers. Nicole wasn’t about to let any of them find any form of sanctuary. She knows whatever injuries they get are temporary, but they hurt all the same and until Peacemaker can send them all to Hell, it’s damn sure a comfort Nicole will take.

Wynonna sent the new ringleader of theirs, Johnny Ringo, to Hell after Waverly tore him apart. Nicole’s stomach rolls as she remembers the scene she had to drag her wife away from. There wasn’t much left of him, in all honesty. The trailer was covered in chunks of him and the thick, pungent blood Revenants seem to have swimming through their veins. But he was still laughing before Wynonna put a bullet through his skull and sent him to Hell.

It was awful.

Especially seeing how completely Waverly fell apart right after. Honestly, there is a part of Nicole that is terrified that Waverly lost some part of herself in that trailer that she will never get back. She almost finds herself mourning that unnamed piece of her wife, even without true proof of its loss.

They don’t speak the entire drive home, they just sit there while Nicole tries desperately to focus on the road ahead of her.

Finally, after what feels like the longest drive ever, they pull into their own driveway. Nicole turns the truck off, but neither of them make a move to get out. She can’t force herself to move, and it seems that neither can Waverly.

Nicole blindly grabs for Waverly’s hand, squeezing hard. She’s terrified of going into that house- into their own _home_.

It feels different, even from just the driveway. Like they will never truly be safe here ever again. Suddenly, Nicole wants to turn the truck back on and just drive away. Drive blindly. Drive until things put themselves back together somehow, but that’s not a possibility. Instead, they have to get out of this truck and head inside. Nicole lets go of Waverly's hand reluctantly and then unbuckles her seatbelt. She still hasn’t even put her hand on the door when Waverly breaks the silence.

“I don’t want to go in there.”

“I know. Neither do I.” Nicole admits.

Her words hang between them. Nicole feels like she might suffocate on the guilt eating away at her. They were supposed to be safe- she honestly thought they _would_ be. She failed them. Failed Waverly, and most of all, failed Warner.

They don’t even know where he is. Not really. They know who has him, but not where they are.

“We’ve got to go inside at some point.” Nicole says, voice flat.

Finally, they drag themselves out of the truck and make their way into the house.

Waverly walks into the empty nursery and Nicole waits at the doorway, unable to bring herself to go inside.

“I was just kind of hoping it had all been an awful dream.” Waverly mutters with her back to Nicole, her voice sounding distant, almost dreamlike, in itself.

Nicole doesn’t say anything. There's nothing she _can_ say. In all honesty, there was a small part of her that had hoped the same when Waverly walked into the nursery. She knew better, but hope never has cared about reality.

“Let’s go to bed.” Nicole says, holding her hand out to Waverly.

Waverly finally turns to face Nicole, but not before grabbing the baby blanket that had been discarded on the floor. She puts the blanket up to her face and breathes deep.

“It smells like him.” Waverly croaks out as she walks out of the nursery.

Nicole puts her hand on the small of Waverly's back and leads her towards their bedroom- the blind leading the blind, really.

The sun’s already peeking through the curtains and Nicole absently wonders just what time it is, but she’s not curious enough to actually check.

She sits down on the corner of the bed and kicks off her shoes. Waverly's climbing into her side of the bed when Nicole realizes they don’t even have to change clothes. They went into that trailer park and tore those revenants apart in their fucking pajamas. She can’t help but laugh.

“What? What’s funny?” Waverly asks from behind Nicole.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” Nicole says, looking back at Waverly.

“No, come on, tell me!” Waverly argues.

“It's just... look at us!” Nicole says and pauses as Waverly does in fact look herself over, “We destroyed that trailer park in our fucking pajamas!”

Soon they're both laughing, though Nicole doesn’t find true humor in any of it after awhile as the laughter dies out.

A few seconds later, she remembers that she actually still has to put up her service weapon and walks over to the closet and sticks the gun in the safe, taking a hollow comfort in the sound of it clicking closed.

She turns back around and looks at Waverly, who is still sitting on the bed looking so lost. Suddenly Nicole has an overwhelming urge to just fix everything, to make Waverly feel safe again, but she doesn’t know how to do that. In all honesty, Nicole's not sure she will ever be able to make Waverly feel safe again.

“Let’s try to get some sleep, yeah?” Nicole asks, walking over to the bed, stripping as she goes.

Soon she’s down to just her panties as she crawls into bed next to Waverly.

“I can’t sleep.” Waverly says.

Nicole looks up at her as she replies.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like sleeping either but we need it, Baby. It's been too long. Just try, alright? Just close your eyes, and-”

“No, you don’t get it, Nicole. I _can’t_ just go to sleep, I have to pump.” Waverly snaps, cutting Nicole off.

“Oh.”

Nicole feels like an idiot and wants to rectify the situation, so she sits up and offers a solution.

“Well, then I’ll stay up with you.”

Waverly doesn’t reply for a while and they both just sit there in bed, not saying anything, and Nicole doesn’t know what to do. Her first instinct is to go out again and start looking for any sign of The Stone Witch and Warner, but she wouldn’t even know where to start. She’s not even sure if Constance is trapped by the Ghost River Triangle like the Revenants, or not. They could be anywhere, and Nicole’s stomach twists as she considers the possibility that their son might not even be in town anymore.

Waverly jolts Nicole back to reality as she speaks, voice soft.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, I forgive you.” Nicole answers easily.

There is a pause, and then Waverly is tripping over herself as she sobs out apology after apology. Soon she’s too worked up for Nicole to catch every word, but she knows it's just more apologies.

“I know, Baby, I know. I forgive you.” Nicole’s been saying it since the first apology and she plans on repeating herself until Waverly is sated.

At some point in Waverly's breakdown, Nicole reached out to hold her, and Waverly just folded into her. Nicole’s been holding her for a while but she doesn’t mind. She would hold Waverly forever if that’s what it took to make her wife feel even the slightest bit better.

Now though, Waverly pulls back, still crying but not as hard as earlier, “You don’t even know what I’m apologizing for!”

“It doesn’t matter, I forgive you. No matter what happens, Waverly, I forgive you. I _forgive_ _you._ ”

As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Nicole knows they’re true.

Waverly disentangles herself and Nicole just lets her go. Soon they’re back where they were sitting in relative silence as Waverly pumps. The only sounds breaking the silence are the small sniffles coming from Waverly every now and again.

“I killed her son.” Waverly admits, her voice hollow.

“What?” Nicole asks, thoroughly confused now.

“The Stone Witch. I killed her son- well, sort of. See, My Uncle Curtis left me this skull for safekeeping- or as a last resort- I’m kind of iffy on the details. Anyway, after the Blacksmith kind of bonded us- me and the skull- I taunted Constance with it and then smashed it against a wall.” Waverly pauses as she takes a shaky breath in, “She was going to use it to resurrect him...it was her son’s skull. I- Nicole, she has _Warner._ What if-?”

Waverly doesn't finish the thought, but it’s not like there's much of a need. Nicole’s crying now as all of the information clicks. She doesn't know when Waverly started apologizing again, but suddenly she’s chanting dozens of them into the skin of Nicole's neck.

This is all too much, far too much to handle. But before she’s even aware of what’s happening, Nicole is telling Waverly she forgives her. She’s knows that if something has happened to Warner, then the only person she can truly blame is the Stone Witch. Luckily, she can also tear that bitch apart, slowly, which she plans on doing the second they find her and Warner is safely in Waverly’s arms.

Nicole is not about to fall down that particular rabbit hole in regards to their son's well-being. That won’t help them find Warner, and it won’t do them any favors in the meantime. So Nicole is just going to shove her fears down. She is a cop, after all. She was trained to trudge forward, no matter how fearsome the odds.

“We're going to get him back safe and sound.” Nicole states, trying to convince both herself and Waverly in the process.

At some point, Nicole fell asleep. Thankfully, whatever dreams she might have had all faded away the second she started to wake up and she can’t remember a thing.

Waverly’s still asleep next to her, snoring softly. Nicole leans over to the bedside table and checks Waverly's phone for the time. She only got a few hours of sleep, but it's enough for now. She takes the phone off of the charger and gets up out of bed as quietly as possible. She doesn’t want to chance waking Waverly.

There has to be some reason for everything that is normally mundane and quiet sounding obscenely loud when you’re trying to not wake someone. She figures it's just her being hyper aware of what she’s doing now instead of being focused on other things. Either way, she needs to get dressed.

The details of what she’s wearing don’t exactly matter to her. She pulls out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt without even looking and she’s good to go.

After getting dressed, she heads out to the living room and unlocks Waverly’s phone. She scrolls through the contacts until she comes to Wynonna’s name.

Absently, Nicole paces around the living room as the phone rings. Her eyes land on her own phone still in the dock. It’s strange to realize everything is exactly how they left it. Not only that, but it’s really only been a day, though it feels infinitely longer.

Nicole walks over to the phone and presses play, the soft music starting up as she lowers the volume considerably. The same song is still on repeat. Everything seems untouched by Warner’s absence. Everything besides Waverly and Nicole themselves.

“Hey, any new leads?” Wynonna asks, voice hoarse as she answers the phone.

It takes a few seconds for her brain to catch up, but soon enough Nicole is answering.

“No. Can you guys head over here? We need to figure out what we’re gonna do.” Nicole replies.

“Yeah. I wasn’t expecting to hear _you_ on the other end of this call.” Wynonna says. There’s shuffling on her end of the line, and Nicole hopes that means they’ll be heading here soon.

Shit, she’s using Waverly's phone. That’s right.

“She’s still asleep.” Nicole offers as explanation.

“Shouldn’t you be?” Wynonna asks, less shuffling and Nicole’s not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

“Can’t.” Nicole admits.

Wynonna doesn’t push the subject, and Nicole honestly didn't think she would, but she’s grateful nonetheless. They hang up the phone with the reassurance that Wynonna will be on her way shortly. Nicole assumes Doc and Dolls will be with her- they are a package deal these days and she can’t argue the help.

Honestly, she didn’t even think to ask about Willa. She regrets it now, suddenly, wondering if maybe Waverly would want her oldest sister there. But at the same time, Nicole doesn’t necessarily want Willa around. There are too many emotional landmines where Willa is concerned, and Nicole and Waverly have a hard enough time navigating their own.

Nicole walks into the kitchen and starts making a latte as she waits for Wynonna and the others to get there. She knows she needs more sleep, but at the same time, she can’t convince herself to actually go back to bed. There is too much that needs to happen. They have to figure out a plan.

Nicole stands at the counter looking at the coffee pot but not actually paying it any real attention now that it’s just a waiting game. She's too in her head, too worried about everything else going on. They don't know where their son is and they don’t really know where to even start looking.

She’s brought back to reality as she hears Waverly’s footsteps against the tile of the kitchen floor. Soon enough, her arms are wrapped around Nicole's middle as she presses the side of her face into Nicole's back.

“I didn’t know where you were- I woke up and you were gone…” Waverly mutters, trailing off at the end.

She doesn’t speak her fears, the ones Nicole knows are sitting on the tip of her tongue. But maybe it’s best to just leave these moments with things unsaid. That could just be Nicole's own fear talking, though.

“I’m right here.” Nicole says, placing her hands atop Waverly’s own.

They stand like that for a while until Waverly picks her head up from Nicole’s back.

“Is there coffee?”

“Yes, but you have to let go of me to get some.”

Waverly actually hesitates before disentangling herself, moving to the counter, and taking the coffee pot off the burner and pouring herself a latte. Nicole watches the process as Waverly gets her drink just the way she likes it. Nicole follows suit and then takes a sip- at least there are some small comforts that don’t falter, even if it is well past morning now.

“I called Wynonna, they’re on their way here. Oh, and here’s your phone by the way.” Nicole says, digging the cellphone out of her pocket and handing it over to Waverly.

“You could have used your own, you know.” Waverly says, taking her phone back. But she’s smiling, so Nicole assumes she isn’t actually mad.

“It was still on the dock.”

Nicole does not add, _‘where we left it’_ to the end of that sentence, but the information still seems to hit Waverly all the same.

“Oh. Right.” Waverly mutters against the rim of her coffee mug.

Nicole doesn’t reply, she just sips her coffee and tries to not think, but that’s not working in the slightest because her brain is in overdrive. She wants to say something. Fix all of this somehow because there is a tension between them that wasn’t there just seconds before. She’s used to the sadness dividing them, or the rage, or even the guilt, but this tension is new and unwelcome and difficult to completely grasp because Nicole still doesn't know what it is. Maybe those unsaid things are starting to creep up on them.

Nicole opens her mouth to say something- not that she has even thought far enough ahead to know what she is going to say. But it’s all moot because Waverly beats her to the punch.

“I should go let Orie out. Will you feed him and Whiskey while I’m out there?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah sure, of course.” Nicole says, nodding.

Waverly leaves her coffee mug on the kitchen counter and then walks out to the living room.

Nicole can hear Orie barking, but the commotion dies out relatively quickly and soon the sounds are fading as the two make their way outside. Nicole takes another sip of her coffee before finally making quick work of filling Orie and Whiskey’s food and water bowls.

At the sound of the food hitting the bowl, Whiskey trills and then comes bounding up, sniffing at Nicole’s ankles briefly before digging into her meal. She’s purring before Nicole even leans down to pet her.

“You know, I’ve missed you. You’ve been making yourself scarce lately.” Nicole muses.

The only response she gets are the small crunching sounds of Whiskey eating.

“Not that I can really blame you…” Nicole sighs, straightening up, “Things are so messed up.”

Nicole walks over to the dock where her phone sits, fully charged and completely harmless. She doesn’t pick it up, though she knows she should. It’s just a phone, after all. But there is some small part of her that feels that moving her phone is a true acceptance of this situation they have found themselves in, and Nicole just _can’t_ accept things.

Waverly walks in with Orie trailing at her side and Nicole smiles at the little clinking sounds of his nails hitting the hardwood. Soon enough, he’s licking at her barefeet and she’s laughing as Waverly scoops him up into her arms. Nicole still hasn’t stopped looking at her phone.

“It’s okay.” Waverly says, placing a hand on Nicole’s shoulder.

Nicole looks over at her, knowing she must look absolutely stricken. There is no way Waverly could understand this, is there? Nicole’s not even sure if _she_ understands this. And yet, Waverly’s small smile seems to hold an understanding of just what is taking place.

“It’s okay.” Waverly repeats.

Nicole looks back at her phone and finally picks it up out of the dock. It’s warm in her hands; solid, familiar. It’s just a phone. It’s just a phone, and yet it is so much more. It’s a symbol, or at least Nicole has found herself making it as much.

They both turn towards the front door when they hear a car door slam outside.

“Time to make a plan.” Waverly says, putting Orie down on the floor and looking over at Nicole.

Nicole nods as she takes the hand Waverly has offered her and they go to the front door to let Wynonna and the others inside.

“No time like the present, right?” Nicole asks.

* * *

 “So your big plan is just... _shoot her_?” Wynonna asks, incredulous.

“Well, what other ideas do you have?” Nicole shoots back, defensive.

“For one, how about we focus on _finding_ her? I mean, we don’t even know where to start! Can she leave the Ghost River Triangle or is she trapped?” Waverly asks, her voice holding an edge to it.

They’ve been going over various plans for a while now, but they’ve pretty much come up empty on anything with a solid foundation besides, ‘kill her’. They’re at least unanimous on that front. The fact that Wynonna, Doc, and Dolls are all sharing questioning looks does not instill confidence.

“Shit, do you guys even know if she can leave?!” Nicole knows she’s yelling, but she doesn’t care much at the moment.

Waverly’s hand on her arm brings her back down, or rather, just refocuses her attention.

“Nicole…” Waverly starts, her voice small.

“What? They don’t even know if she can leave!” Nicole argues, that rage bubbling up in her chest again.

“I know.” Waverly states

At first Nicole doesn’t understand. She thinks for a second that maybe Waverly knows the answer to her question, but one look at her expression says differently. No, all Waverly knows is how lost they actually are, and it’s starting to sink into Nicole now, too.

“Where do we start? How did you guys capture her the first time around?” Nicole asks, turning towards Wynonna.

“Brute force, a few guns...some magical ribbon or something.” Wynonna answers, rolling her wrist with her words.

Nicole raises an eyebrow, “Magical ribbon?”

“You’d have to ask Doc here, since he was the one that pulled that out of left field.” Wynonna says, looking over at Doc, who is sitting next to her on the couch.

Dolls is perched on the armrest of the couch next to Doc and looks down at him, awaiting an answer. Waverly gets up from her seat next to Nicole and starts pacing around the living room, again. Nicole only just got her seated a few minutes ago with complaints that the constant action was starting to make her even more anxious. But Nicole can’t exactly fault Waverly for the need to move. She would bolt out of the house right now if she had anywhere to go.

“I obtained it from the Blacksmith. And it wasn’t a ribbon, it was gallow silk soaked in the bitch’s blood.” Doc spits on the sentence, disgust evident in his tone.

“Okay, well, we can just go to this Blacksmith and get some more, right?” Nicole asks, finally feeling like they’ll get somewhere soon.

Wynonna and Doc share a look.

“What? What’s wrong?” Nicole asks, scooting forward to the edge of her seat as if that will get her answers quicker.

“Well, about that-” Doc starts, though Wynonna cuts him off.

“She’s dead.”

Nicole’s stomach twists. So there goes there one and so far only lead. This isn’t going well, and she just wants to scream out her frustration. Nothing is helping. She can’t just fix this with some detective work and a plucky attitude. This is beyond her, and beyond all of them if she’s honest, and she doesn’t know what to do anymore. She feels like they’re all out of options and quickly running out of hope.

Suddenly Waverly feels too far away.

“Waves…” Nicole says, reaching her hand out towards Waverly.

Waverly spins on her but immediately softens and walks over to her, sitting on the armrest of Nicole’s recliner, falling a bit onto Nicole herself. She doesn’t mind, not with Waverly this close. Not with something solid to hang on to, if only for a moment.

“So, we’re screwed then?” Nicole asks, looking over at Wynonna and the rest.

“Not entirely. There could still be something at her-” Dolls is interrupted by Wynonna.

“Lair.”

“I was gonna say workshop, but that works too, I guess.” Dolls says, giving Wynonna a look.

“There were literally landmines there, remember?” Wynonna argues in her defense, “It was definitely a lair.”

“Oh, yeah I’ve been there! There could be something we could use. I mean it can’t hurt, right?” Waverly pipes up, seeming more animated than before, looking at Dolls and then turning her attention to Nicole, “We could maybe find something to find Constance with there.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Nicole says, looking over at the others.

Wynonna, Doc and Dolls stand up and head out to the driveway, but Waverly and Nicole linger in the house for a few seconds longer. Waverly puts Orie up in his crate, apologizing and promising him a bunch of playtime when they get back. Nicole just watches Waverly move, unable to tear her eyes away.

Sometimes all of this feels like a dream, like Nicole is somehow watching everything happen in a large fishbowl where nothing can actually reach her. Even when those things seem to be her own emotions.

“You okay?” Waverly asks, turning towards Nicole, a look of concern on her face.

“Not even a little bit.” Nicole answers automatically.

“I know the feeling…” Waverly trails off and takes Nicole’s hand, squeezing, “Come on, let’s go find something that’ll get our baby back.”

The drive out to the Blacksmith’s workshop is longer than Nicole first expected, but she probably should have seen it coming. At first glance, Nicole can understand just why Wynonna labeled it a lair. The hairs on Nicole’s arms stand on end as they get out of the truck and walk towards the abandoned barn.

Luckily, the door isn’t even locked, which makes sense if the owner is dead. It’s not like anyone dying it going to really think to lock up before they leave, especially if they were headed out to the homestead.

“Eerie.” Nicole mutters, her breath fogging up in the cold, late-afternoon air.

Waverly doesn’t say anything, she just wraps her hand around Nicole’s arm as they walk into the dark barn. Nicole can’t see a thing; there are a few beams of light coming into the barn from the windows, but not enough to make much of a difference.

“You think we could start a fire or something?” Wynonna asks, shoving Dolls forward.

Nicole can at least make out the annoyed look on Dolls’ face, and can’t help but chuckle.

They do eventually get a fire started in the fireplace. Nicole can’t say it helps with the spooky mood at all, but they can at least see what they’re doing now.

What they’re doing is basically rifling through a dead woman’s possessions, and Nicole can’t shake the unsettling feeling as she realizes this fact. But it’s for a good cause, she tells herself, and it’s is. They need any information they can get when it comes to taking down Constance once and for all.

“Got anything?” Nicole asks Waverly, absently.

“Pretty sure this is all in Hungarian, and I am also pretty sure this is a recipe for goulash. So if we get hungry, we’re covered there.” Waverly says, flinging the paper away from her.

Nicole wrinkles her nose at the information.

“Hey, work with me here. I’m a bit rusty with my Hungarian!” Waverly says, exasperated.

Nicole can’t really blame her. Everything looked like gibberish to her, in all honesty- and that was just the English bits. They’ve been looking for what feels like hours, but as Nicole checks her phone, it’s really only been about thirty minutes since they pulled up here.

Nicole jumps the second a gunshot sounds, and she’s reaching for her own gun the second after. She turns in her seat at the table, only to be faced with an unfamiliar woman brandishing a shotgun, backlit from the open barn door.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you that trespassing is illegal?”

“Well fuck me running.” Wynonna says from behind Nicole.

“You know this woman, Wynonna?” Nicole yells back at Wynonna, gun still trained on the stranger.

“I shouldn’t be that easy to forget, Earp.” The woman yells at Wynonna, and if Nicole didn’t know better, she’d almost call it banter.

“Put your weapon down, Nicole.” Wynonna calls, and Nicole looks back at that.

“What? But-” Nicole looks back, only to find that no one else has a weapon out.

“Meet the Blacksmith.” Wynonna says with a flourish of her hand in the other woman’s direction.

“I have a name, you know. It’s Mattie.” Mattie clarifies, holding her shotgun down at her side, now.

Nicole lowers her weapon, clicking the safety back on as she holsters it again. Mattie walks into the barn and Nicole trails her, still not completely comfortable. But if what Wynonna says is true, then they are, in fact, trespassing.

“I thought you were dead? Doc-” Nicole starts, but gets cut off there.

“You all know he was a dentist, right?” Mattie asks, pointing her finger around at everyone in the room, “He didn’t exactly check for a pulse.”

“I _saw_ you die!” Doc yells, stepping forward.

“You saw what I wanted you to see, Holliday!” Mattie fires back, “You and Constance both saw what I wanted you to see. She still believes I was riddled with tumors before she ‘killed’ me!”

“Uh, not that this isn’t fascinating, but we actually-” Wynonna starts, stepping towards them, but being cut off before she can get any farther.

“You’re trespassing is what you are, which I don’t exactly take kindly to.” Mattie states. Nicole’s hand hovers over her gun, just in case.

“What if I say it’s for a _really_ good reason?” Wynonna asks, putting on a grin that falters.

“I’m listening.” Mattie says, eyes narrowed at Wynonna.

“Okay, well-”

“No, not you, I want to hear from the other Earp in the room. Waverly, how’s the hubby?” Mattie asks, turning to Waverly with a smirk.

Nicole can see Waverly bristle at the comment, and then starts in, “I don’t know what you-”

“The skull, Waverly. I was talking about the skull. What, did you get yourself hitched to that Hardy boy while I was dead or something?” Mattie asks, looking surprisingly disappointed.

“I, well, no.” Waverly replies, tripping over her words.

“Oh, good. He never was worth your time. So, why exactly have you snuck into my workshop- illegally, I might add, with law enforcement in tow?” Mattie asks, walking over towards Waverly.

“We need to find a way to kill Constance Clootie.” Waverly states.

“Okay, did you miss the part about me faking my own death to get away from her?” Mattie asks, eyebrows raised as she gestures with her hands.

“But you were going to tell Doc how to kill her before!” Waverly argues.

“Things were different then. I am all for killing Constance, but I’m also not sure you have what it takes. Do you even still have the gallow’s silk?” Mattie asks, turning around and looking at Doc.

“Well, I…”

“Oh, great. Do you know how difficult that was to get? You still have the skull though, right? That’s your real key to getting anything done here.” Mattie says, “I mean, if I were considering helping you, which I’m not, that’s where I would start.”

“I uh, I smashed it against a wall,” Waverly admits, voice low. Quickly though, she adds, “It was the only way to stop her!”

“So there goes your bait, and the one thing Constance wanted above all else… Okay, I’m out. Sorry, can’t help you guys. Thanks so much for coming; I really appreciate having my place ransacked… I am never dealing with Earps again.” Mattie says, sarcasm thick as she tries to usher them all out.

“She has my son!” Waverly yells, standing up from her seat at the table.

Nicole looks up at her and then stands up too. Waverly grabs for her hand, looking at her before speaking again, “ _Our_ son. She has our son and he’s only five days old. You have to help, please. We need to get him back. I-”

Waverly stops there, choked by her emotion.

“Great Gaia, she has a _child_?” Mattie asks, voice soft.

“She took him yesterday. We-well, Revenants took him for her, and I guess they traded him off to her. We- we took care of the Revenants.” Nicole offers as explanation, though she knows it isn’t much.

There is a pause that hangs between all of them. Waverly’s crying and Nicole’s holding her, looking over at Mattie as if she can plead for her to see reason without words. Finally, Mattie speaks.

“Okay, first order of business is getting your dentist here disconnected with Constance.” Mattie says, turning towards Doc.

Doc bristles and so does Wynonna.

“What? What are you talking about?” Waverly manages to find her voice enough to ask.

“Oh, so he didn’t tell you?” Mattie asks, looking back at Waverly, “Doc Holliday here is connected with the Stone Witch. Every physical injury inflicted on her comes right back to him. Isn’t that right, John Henry?” Mattie says, turning back around to face Doc.

Doc looks angry, and Wynonna looks worried. Dolls just looks blank; the only thing none of them look is surprised.

“You all knew, didn’t you?” Only by technicalities is it a question; Nicole already knows the answer.

They don’t bother to answer, and their silence is answer enough. Waverly pulls out of Nicole’s arms to step towards Mattie.

“How do we separate them?” Waverly asks, sniffling.

“It’s going to be a long, probably painful process. Their souls and bodies are so deeply entwined due to her magic- I’m not sure he’ll still be immortal after all is said and done.” Mattie says, looking from Waverly over to Doc as she finishes.

“I’ve lived three lifetimes stuck in a well because of that bitch. One more without her will suit me just fine.” Doc says with a nod.

Nicole has to admire him. He’s facing death, a true death, though hopefully not for a while.

“Alright, well, I’ll need a few ingredients. Some of your blood, to start with.” Mattie says, turning to walk farther into the barn.

“Anything from Constance? Because I gotta tell you, we didn’t exactly stock up on Essence of Crazy Bitch the last time we saw her.” Wynonna says, following after Mattie.

“Thankfully, I _did_. She didn’t think much beyond torturing and killing me to get information out of me.” Mattie offers as they continue to walk away.

Nicole looks at Waverly, who is still standing there. She walks up to her and puts a hand on Waverly’s shoulder. Waverly turns to her, eyes red-rimmed from tears and she just looks so tired- probably as tired as Nicole feels. Things are progressing and they should be happy about that, and Nicole knows she is, in some distant part of her. But she wants to just speed this all along; she just wants Warner safe in their arms.

“Waverly…” Nicole says her wife’s name softly.

Waverly whimpers and then turns to follow after Mattie and the others.  

“Wait, Baby, you’re um-” Nicole falters, not knowing how to phrase what she just noticed.

“What?” Waverly asks, stopping and looking back at her.

“Um, you’re uh, leaking?” Nicole lilts the phrase up at the end, not sure if that’s the right word, but it’s the only one she has.

Waverly looks down at her chest, only to see two damp spots forming on her t-shirt.

“Oh, great!” Waverly moans, crying all over again.

“It’s okay, Baby-” Nicole starts but Waverly cuts her off.

“Nothing is okay!” Waverly croaks out.

“I know.” Nicole readily agrees.

* * *

 They manage to get all of the ingredients together for the spell before the sun goes down, though apparently there is a salve involved. Wynonna snorted and called it a potion at the first mention and got shot with such a nasty look from Mattie that she quickly corrected herself. Nicole suspected that Wynonna had such a turn around due to fear of being cursed. Again.

“Alright, let’s just…” Mattie trails off, drawing symbols on Doc’s bare chest.

Doc looks solemn and serious and it’s not like Nicole can really blame him. He was warned that this would be painful, and the spell hasn’t even started yet. Nicole breaks herself out of her thoughts and completes the salt circle around Doc and Mattie.

Waverly is sitting off to the side of things and Nicole goes over to sit next to her.

“Feeling any better?” Nicole asks, sliding her arm around Waverly.

“No. I’m sore and swollen.” Waverly says, voice flat and not even bothering to look at Nicole.

“I’m sure we can go get the pump now and be back before anything happens.” Nicole offers.

She can see Waverly consider it- that has always been one of Nicole’s favorite things to do, witness Waverly just sitting in quiet contemplation. She’s always been fascinated with Waverly’s utter brilliance- though even Nicole can admit her wife has faltered on some simple personal matters- like her love life before Nicole found her way into Purgatory.

“No, I don’t want to leave when we’re about to actually start this whole thing.” Waverly says, finally settling on an answer.

Nicole frowns. On one hand, she can understand why Waverly wants to stay where they are. But on the other, she doesn’t like seeing her wife in pain like this. Especially since she can’t actually do anything to help. She opens her mouth to say something, but doesn’t get very far as Mattie comes walking up to them.

“Waverly, I can help with your pain if you want?” Mattie offers.

Nicole looks up at her, grateful.

“Please!” Waverly says, scrambling to her feet.

“Okay, just come this way.” Mattie says, leading Waverly past Doc, Dolls and Wynonna.

Nicole watches as Waverly goes, grateful that at least someone here can do something to alleviate the pain Waverly is in. She’s trying really hard to ignore the stab of jealousy that shoots through her because she isn’t the one that can actually help, though she offered the only solution she knew she could.

It’s not too long before Waverly returns, looking considerably happier. In fact, she actually looks awake. Her cheeks are flushed, and Nicole finds herself more grateful to Mattie than before. She also finds herself exceedingly more annoyed at Mattie, too but Nicole’s trying to squash her petty feelings as quickly as possible.

“Relax.” Mattie says, hands on Doc’s chest as she lays him back.

“Are we starting?” Nicole asks, looking over at Dolls.

“I should hope so. I’ve been waitin’ ages, here!” Doc answers before Dolls can get to it.

“Be quiet and relax already or you’ll make this more painful than it has to be.” Mattie bites out.

Nicole smiles as the sudden mental image of Mattie giving Doc a purple nurple in reprimand hits her. Waverly looks over at her questioningly, but Nicole isn’t given enough time to answer before Mattie is chanting in another language.

Doc seems fine for a few seconds before his whole body goes stiff, and Nicole’s first instinct is to move forward, though she knows she can’t break the circle or she will throw the whole ritual off, and who knows where Doc would be left at that point. She leans forward regardless, safely within the boundary.

Waverly’s hand goes to Nicole’s own, squeezing tightly as they watch the ritual continue. The small knife in Mattie’s hands begins to glow with her continued chanting. Nicole never thought that anything would ever lead her here. She’s sitting in a barn with her wife witnessing an honest to god spell be cast over a practically immortal man.

Nothing in her life could have ever prepared her for this.

There seems to be a crescendo to the chanting as Mattie starts yelling her words. Doc convulses and then screams in pain, his body clearly tense as the ritual continues. Nicole has the overwhelming urge to stop them; this has to be too much.

Her eyes fall to Wynonna and Dolls. Wynonna’s hands are wrapped around Dolls’ so tightly that Wynonna’s knuckles are white. Neither of them have moved, though. Nicole doesn’t know how they stay still. If it were Waverly screaming like that, she would break the circle in a heartbeat.

Finally, things seem to be winding down and Doc’s body relaxes as Mattie’s chanting starts to die down in intensity and then she finishes completely.

“It’s done.” Mattie pants.

Wynonna and Dolls are out of their seats immediately, breaking the circle as they move next to Doc on the floor.

“Doc?” Wynonna says, patting Doc’s cheek. There’s no response.

Wynonna tries again.

Still no response.

Dolls stiffens next to Wynonna, and Nicole can see the exact moment he retreats into himself. His face goes completely blank and she wonders briefly if he is in the same headspace she goes into when she has to draw her gun- it’s all static and white noise; nothing can reach her there.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t he responding?!” Wynonna yells, tears already falling from her eyes.

“It’s not an exact science, you know.” Mattie states in her defense.

“Well, you better damn sure make it one right now!” Wynonna yells, anger boiling to the surface.

“Wynonna, is Doc-?” Waverly starts, but the look Wynonna gives her stops her mid-sentence.

“Come on, Cowboy. You gotta wake up! Come on!” Wynonna keeps yelling, shaking Doc’s body.

Nicole doesn’t want to be here. She doesn’t want to have to bear witness to this, Wynonna’s unraveling and Dolls’ departure from the event. Nicole wants to be anywhere else. Instead, she is here and holding on to Waverly’s hand with a death grip, one Waverly is easily matching her for.

“Henry, wake up!” Wynonna’s voice cracks as the tears keep falling.

Nicole looks up at the ceiling. Just listening to the scene unfolding around her is too much; having to watch anymore might break her apart completely. Her attention is immediately back to Wynonna, Dolls, and Doc as he takes a sharp breath in, his back bowing with the effort.

“Wynonna? Xavier?” Doc croaks out, looking at both of his partners as if seeing them for the first time.

“You big dummy, you’re not allowed to scare me like that!” Wynonna says with a gentle slap to Doc’s chest and a watery smile as tears continue to fall.

“Welcome back.” Dolls says, voice soft and face full of adoration as he runs a hand through Doc’s hair.

“Good to be back.” Doc says with a smile, panting still.

They stay like that for a while, and Nicole feels Waverly relax next to her. Nicole’s grip on Waverly’s hand lessens, though she doesn’t dare let go completely. Waverly leans into her, sighing out her relief. Nicole does eventually let go of Waverly’s hand, only to wrap her arm around Waverly’s shoulders and pull her wife closer. It’s nice to have these moments where everything starts to feel solid again.

Nicole is broken out of her thoughts as Mattie speaks.

“I hope you’re all ready to kill a witch.”

Wynonna, Doc, Dolls, Waverly, and Nicole all look to Mattie. Doc still panting, Wynonna still crying, and Dolls looking like he is finally returning to his own body. Waverly is sitting beside Nicole looking equal parts determined and frightened out of her skin.

Nicole can only guess what her expression is, she’s not even sure _what_ she’s feeling.  
  
“Damn straight.” Nicole answers for all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ignores canon harder than before*


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes to a head as the confrontation with Constance draws nearer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this took longer than expected but it is also longer than expected so I guess there's that trade off.

Waverly needs to be doing something. She needs to be doing something _more_ than sitting in a barn watching the heavy rise and fall of Doc Holliday’s labored breathing. She needs to be out in the streets, busting open every door to every building she can find. She needs to be looking for her son, and above that, she needs to _find_ him.

It's like that fire from earlier, that rage, has mutated into something more. Every single nerve-ending in her body feels raw and exposed. Everything is too much and too little all at once. She needs to be doing more. She needs to be doing _anything_.

Everyone is just sitting around on their asses while Warner is just out there, scared and cold, with a fucking psychotic murderous ancient witch who is more than likely on the warpath.

Waverly needs to be doing something more than just sitting here, so she jumps up. Her body is moving before she can think and the words come out faster, harsher, than she anticipated. But that edge is justified, it has been _earned_.

“We still have no idea _where_ they are, though!” Waverly says, her speech pressured even to her own ears. “We need to go somewhere, do something. We need to find my baby!”

Waverly knows that what just transpired classifies as an outburst. That's what it was, but she’s not about to apologize for it, either. They’re wasting time and no one seems concerned besides her, and everything is just too much. She fixes Mattie with a glare, almost challenging her to say something, to meet her for the challenge.

Thankfully, she doesn’t.

“I can help with that, too.” Mattie replies easily, standing up and walking out of the circle and over to the table Waverly and the rest of them had been sitting at before.

“How?” Waverly asks, her voice still holding that edge.

“Like I said before, I took what I needed from Constance,” Mattie says, grabbing a handful of some kind of powder and pulling a map of the Ghost River Triangle off the wall before she continues, “and a tracking spell is easy compared to ripping two souls apart -which I just did successfully, I might add.”

“You almost killed him!” Waverly argues, though she knows this isn’t the time to be arguing, especially not with the one person who seems to have all the answers.

“He will be fine, Waverly.” Mattie says, voice earnest.

Suddenly Waverly feels like they're no longer talking about Doc. She opens her mouth to say something, anything at this point. She wants to ask what Mattie means. She wants to ask if Mattie knows more than she’s letting on. A small part of her wants to ask Mattie if she can somehow see the future. But Waverly doesn’t get a word out before Mattie’s speaking again, keeping her occupied, at least.

“We need something of his. Something he’s touched, or-” Mattie starts, but then Waverly cuts her off.

“We don’t have anything. He’s _five days old,_ we don’t just carry around-”

“Baby...” Nicole trails off, putting her hand on Waverly’s shoulder.

Waverly looks back at her wife and stops going for Mattie’s throat. That won’t get them anywhere and it’s not as if she can ignore the fear in Nicole’s eyes; the same fear she feels churning in the pit of her stomach. She’s not alone in this, even if she feels like there is no one else around for miles.

“We have a blanket of his at home.” Nicole offers up, looking at Mattie now.

Waverly turns to Mattie as she replies.

“That’ll work.”

“But what about the spell? I mean, isn’t it time sensitive or something?” Waverly asks, confused.

“It’s fine; you have time. I have to soak the gallow silk in Constance’s blood, and it can only be used at the witching hour to completely eviscerate her powers.”

“So what were you going to do now if we did have something? Just what, pop in to see where they are and torture us for hours with knowing exactly where he’s at, but being completely useless to go save him?!” Waverly yells, stepping closer to Mattie, knocking Nicole’s hand from her shoulder as she goes.

“It could help to know their current location to know what area you would need to keep an eye on.” Mattie offers, her voice gentle.

Waverly wants nothing more than to burn that pity to the ground.

“We’ve still got to go back home, Waverly.” Nicole says, pulling Waverly back towards her and the entrance to the barn.

“Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Waverly says, still staring at Mattie before finally turning around.

“We’ll be back!” Nicole calls out.

“I’ll be here!” Mattie replies.

Wynonna looks up at Waverly as she passes and actually moves to get up from beside Doc, but Waverly waves her off.

“It’s fine, we’ve got to get some things from the house. You guys should probably head back to the homestead; you’ll be safe there.” Waverly says, voice low.

“I’m not just going to leave you guys without-”

“Wynonna, this is our fight!” Waverly states, voice holding no room for argument. But when she continues, she softens a bit- this is her big sister, after all, “We’ll be fine, you just take care of Doc and we’ll see you when this is all over.”

Waverly’s pretty sure Wynonna isn’t going to just accept this, but there’s some sort of shift in her sister and then Wynonna is standing up, looking at her. Waverly’s not sure how to even begin to explain the look in her sister’s eyes, but she thinks Wynonna understands and at least begrudgingly accepts the conditions.

“You better be fine, babygirl.” Wynonna says before pulling Waverly close and kissing her forehead.

“We’re going to get him back.” Waverly says, her hands on top of Wynonna’s as she leans into the contact and they just stand together for a few seconds.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you two.”

Waverly follows Nicole to the truck, her breath fogging in front of her. She can’t be certain without checking, but she is pretty sure tonight is colder than the last. A shiver goes up her spine at the thought.

Wordlessly, she climbs into the cab of the truck. The engine turns over, but they don’t move immediately. In order to pass the time while they wait for the truck to heat up, Waverly leans over to the radio dial.

Not much is even out here. Waverly knows if she wants an actual radio signal, they have to get closer to town. That doesn’t stop her from trying, though. She's scanning through channels and before she knows it, Nicole is pulling out onto the road.

There’s a weak signal that sounds like music, so Waverly leaves it. The only sounds in the cab of the truck are her and Nicole’s breathing, the soft sound of the heater working through the vents, and more static than music coming through the radio. It seems fitting. Everything softened into some hazy, not-quite-there experience. Nothing feels real right now, even though Waverly knows it is. They are in this truck, they are heading home, there is snow falling softly against the windshield. All in all, it should be a good moment, but it’s not. It is so far from good Waverly’s not sure she will ever see good again- at least not until she has her son back in her arms safely.

“Waverly!” Nicole snaps, jolting Waverly back to reality.

“Huh? What? What is it?” Waverly asks, still not feeling all there.

“That was the fourth time I called your name.” Nicole says, voice softening.

“Sorry, I was just...thinking.” Waverly replies, not taking her eyes off the side of the road.

“I don’t want to lose you, too.” Nicole whispers into the emptiness of the truck’s cab.

Waverly turns to face Nicole at that, grabbing for her wife's hand. She doesn’t know what to say, not really, not when she already feels thousands of miles away. So instead, she opts for actions.

Nicole's hand feels solid in her own, an anchor point if ever there was one. Waverly brings the back of Nicole's hand up to her lips and peppers small kisses there. Nicole squeezes her hand in reply and Waverly feels like they might find their way back to normal at some point, after tonight is all over. But then her worries start circling in her head, and it's all over.

Waverly doesn’t even notice that they’re back in town until they’re passing the police station. She looks over at Nicole, knowing her wife would rather have gone to Nedley and the rest of her station. But that wasn’t an option, not when Revenants and the Stone Witch are involved. There's no easy way to say that demons exist, even if Waverly is pretty sure everyone in this town already knows.

It's easier if there isn't a paper trail to deal with, or even the prospect of one.

It’s not just Purgatory’s finest’s reputation she’s concerned with, if she’s honest. Ward Earp may not have not been her biological father, and he may have been a complete bastard, but he was the only one teaching them anything. His number one rule? Take care of your own mess.

This is Waverly’s mess, and she is determined to clean up after herself and leave no trace to be found once she’s done.

They pull into their own driveway and it all seems so strange; the town has all but gone to sleep on them. Waverly knows that’s not even remotely true, not really. There are people and things in this town that don’t come alive until that sun goes down.

But their street is still empty. No one is outside, not even teenagers looking to raise a little Hell. Everything is still, quiet, peaceful even.

Waverly has never hated this town more than in this exact moment. It’s all lies. This entire town is constructed on lies, and it only survives through lies. People pretend like everything's okay. Everyone in this town turns a blind eye, but then their mouths start going a mile a minute the moment you’re out of earshot.

“Let’s go inside.” Nicole says, bringing Waverly back to reality.

For once, they don’t hesitate in the truck. They just get out and Waverly follows Nicole inside the house.

Orie starts barking and whining the moment Nicole’s key hits the lock, and he doesn’t stop once they actually get inside.

“Okay, okay, give me a second.” Waverly says as she walks over to his crate and lets him out.

Orie clamors out of the crate and starts licking at Waverly's face the second he feasibly can. Waverly just lets him, petting him until she pushes him off of her. He sits down on the floor, staring up at her, tail wagging frantically.

“Come on, I promised you some playtime, so let’s go.” Waverly says, and he perks up at the word ‘playtime’.

Waverly turns toward Nicole, “We’ll be back.”

“Go make good on your promise.” Nicole says as she quickly kisses Waverly.

Orie trots along beside Waverly as they head for the yard. Orie ducks through the doggy door first as Waverly unlocks the back door and soon enough, she’s out in the backyard with Orie as he sniffs around.

Waverly just watches him go, getting lost in her own thoughts again. Soon enough, though, he’s picked up one of his rope toys and brings it over to her. When she leans down to take it from him, he pulls back and then they’re playing tug of war, his soft growls breaking the quiet of the evening.

It doesn't take long before Orie abandons the game in favor of getting warm inside. He trots back into the house, leaving Waverly alone in the backyard, rope toy abandoned on the back porch. She stares at it for a few seconds before heading inside herself.

Waverly steps inside and locks the backdoor behind her before she turns back around and heads for the bedroom. Warner’s baby blanket is still on her side of the bed. She’s actually surprised to see Whiskey curled up on Nicole’s side, her head resting on the pillow.

“Were you guarding it?” Waverly asks as she grabs Warner’s blanket and then pets Whiskey, who trills at the contact.

“Hey, I called Wynonna. They’re finally heading home, but I told them we were gonna take our time here. I am pretty sure Wynonna gave Mattie my cell number.” Nicole says from the doorway of the bedroom.

“What? Why aren’t we heading straight there?” Waverly asks, turning to face Nicole, blanket in hand.

“Baby…” Nicole starts, stepping towards Waverly, “What have you eaten today?”

Waverly thinks back, trying to remember, “I, well, I…”

She fumbles, realizing she hasn’t actually eaten anything all day- it’s not like grabbing something to eat has been high on her priority list. The only thing that has mattered to her is finding their son.

“We need to take care of ourselves. We matter, too.” Nicole says, stepping into Waverly’s space and taking her hands in her own.

It’s not as if Waverly doesn’t already know this. Of course they matter, too. It just feels like a betrayal to make sure she’s taken care of when she can’t be sure Warner is being taken care of.

“I know.” Waverly finally whispers in reply.

Nicole leans in and kisses Waverly’s forehead.

Waverly leans into the contact, eyes closed. She’s trying to feel normal, to even feel in this moment, but everything still feels hazy and far away. After a few minutes, Nicole pulls back, her hands sliding from around Waverly’s waist.

“First thing’s first, though; we should probably shower.”

Waverly just nods and follows Nicole into the bathroom, setting Warner’s blanket on the dresser before she leaves the bedroom in favor of the bathroom. Waverly undresses as Nicole starts the shower and then she just buries herself in Nicole, clinging so hard to her wife she’s sure her nails are leaving small half moons on Nicole’s skin.

“I’m right here. I’m right here, Waverly.” Nicole’s saying, her words bouncing off the walls in the bathroom.

Waverly doesn’t understand why Nicole is saying what she is until she finally registers that she’s crying and practically begging Nicole to stay, even though Nicole hasn’t actually gone anywhere. Everything is so fucked up in her head. She’s so scared. Everything is so fucked.

They stand like that for a while, and then Waverly’s heart starts hammering against her chest as Nicole tries to disentangle herself from Waverly’s grip.

“Baby, come on, I have to get undressed. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.” Nicole’s softly reassuring her, but Waverly’s too far gone for that.

She’s outright sobbing; she’s completely falling apart naked in the bathroom as steam builds up around them from the shower that’s still going, with or without them. Everything she’s been feeling lately, everything she has been pushing down, has finally caught up with her and Waverly doesn’t know what to do anymore. There is this fear sitting in her chest, and beyond the terror, there is a grief she can’t explain. She knows the statistics. She knows the odds. She knows what they could be facing, and she can’t bear the thought- but it’s there, nonetheless.

Reality does not care what Waverly can handle, because it is beating her over the head with the real possibility that they will not be getting Warner back alive.

“I forgive you, I forgive you, _I forgive you_ , Waverly.” Nicole just keeps chanting the phrase.

Before Waverly is even processing what is happening, Nicole is moving them into the shower. The hot water hits Waverly’s back as she stays as curled into Nicole as she can be, and Nicole’s hand is pressed against her back, rubbing up and down it as Waverly continues to cry. Somewhere in all this mess, Nicole started slowly disrobing. Waverly can’t help but laugh at the wet plop of Nicole’s soaked shirt hitting the tile floor outside of the shower and that seems to give Nicole enough confidence to finally let go and try desperately to remove her jeans.

In the process, Nicole stumbles back slightly, hitting her back against the shower wall as she pulls down her jeans, grumbling as she goes. Finally, Nicole is completely naked, though the effort almost seems futile, given that her clothes are soaked regardless. Waverly feels awful all over again, having put Nicole through all of this. And for what? It’s not like she’s worth the effort.

“I’m right here, Baby. I’m not going anywhere.” Nicole says, moving back into Waverly’s personal space and kissing her.

Waverly kisses Nicole back, moving forward. She just wants to feel something, to find her footing in this moment because otherwise, she’s not sure she can find her way back from this.

They keep kissing, Nicole pressed against the wall of the shower now until finally Nicole breaks the contact.

“Hey, slow down.” Nicole’s voice is gentle, but it still feels like Waverly’s been punched in the gut. Her reactions are all wrong right now, she knows that, but she can’t seem to stop herself. She’s not even sure what she _wants_ right now, other than to not be alone.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I just-” Waverly cuts herself off, not knowing what she could even say, “-I’m sorry,” She finishes, lamely.

“It’s okay. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Nicole says, wiping Waverly’s tears away.

Waverly lets Nicole scrub her clean. The washcloth moves over her breasts, washing off the salve that she got from Mattie earlier. It essentially just numbed the area, but Waverly knows that after this, she really needs to pump. Her stomach growls as if in protest to the idea, but there’s no getting around her need to pump. Food can wait; it’s waited all day, at this point.

Waverly draws the line at doing her own hair- she has a very specific routine, and she doesn’t want to chance it being disrupted by Nicole, even if she means well. Before Waverly can get to her hair, she steps to the side and lets Nicole move past her.

Nicole sighs as the water hits her front and then Waverly wraps her arms around her waist, pressing her front into Nicole’s back. Waverly takes the washcloth from Nicole and starts scrubbing Nicole’s back and then moves her hand around Nicole’s hip, washcloth still in hand.

The act of washing Nicole, even blindly, is a comfort it itself. It gives Waverly something to focus on outside of herself. Nothing is okay, but they still need to function; she knows that much.

Soon they’re both clean, but they don’t move from the shower, even though the water is starting to cool down. Waverly is still pressed against Nicole’s back as Nicole leans down and turns the water off completely. Waverly doesn’t want to move. She doesn’t want to function. Not yet. She doesn’t feel ready to face anything, as if the act of stepping out of this shower will somehow mean accepting that they could lose everything. She can’t help but feel that somehow moving is the same as failure, even though she knows that doesn’t make any sense.

Nicole pulls the shower curtain back and helps Waverly step out, following closely behind. Waverly grabs a towel off of the rack and wraps it around her, only realizing then that Nicole doesn’t seem to have one.

“I should really plan better.” Nicole says with a sheepish grin.

“That’s what you have me for.” Waverly adds before frowning and amending her statement, “Usually.”

“It’s fine, let me just _pop out_ and get a towel.” Nicole adds, stressing the small phrase.

Waverly knows she’s just joking around, calling back to their little ‘code words’, but for some reason it hits Waverly harder than it should. Suddenly she wants to apologize for ever keeping Nicole a secret. She never meant for Nicole to feel like she wasn’t good enough. She never meant to act like she hasn’t been insanely proud to be with Nicole, to be worthy of Nicole.

Nicole comes back into the room, tucking the corner of the towel around her in and securing it around her chest.

A new wave of guilt hits Waverly all over again, and she just wants it to stop. She’s known for years that she wasn’t good enough, that she wasn’t quite right. She was never the special one. Hell, most of the time she felt like she wasn’t even there. But that _changed_ . That changed when her aunt and uncle took her in. That changed when she forced this entire town to love her. That changed when she met the idiot Champ Hardy and made him love her as much as he could ever love another person. And it changed for good, once and for all, the moment she started living her life for _herself_.

Choosing Nicole was the turning point. Choosing Nicole was the true beginning of Waverly’s life because it was finally _hers_ to enjoy.

But all of these old emotions are bubbling to the surface, and suddenly Waverly’s panicking, thinking that Nicole has made the biggest mistake imaginable by choosing her back. Clearly, Waverly wasn’t special for a reason- she never deserved to be.

She couldn’t even keep their son safe.

“Waverly?” Nicole’s saying her name as if it’s a question.

She’s crying again, and suddenly it’s difficult to breathe. Everything is too fast, and her mistakes just keep getting louder and louder in her head. There is no escaping this. This will never end. She has ruined her entire life by just trying to live it. There is no coming back from that.

“Waverly, Baby, breathe with me, okay?” Nicole’s speaking again, softly, cautious.

Waverly’s not listening anymore. She can’t listen, she can’t breathe. Everything is falling apart and it’s _all her fault_.

“Breathe with me, Baby, in-” Nicole takes a deep breath in through her nose and holds it for a few seconds before exhaling through her mouth, “and out. Come on, this next time, breathe with me. You can do it; come on, Baby.”

Waverly’s shaking her head no because breathing seems impossible. Nicole breathes deep again, but she can’t follow, and she feels awful all over again.

“Do this for me, Baby. Just breathe.” Nicole tries again and finally, Waverly complies.

Soon they’re taking more deep breaths, and Waverly can follow along without her exhales being choked and broken. She’s starting to calm down, she can feel it, but Nicole just keeps repeating the process until Waverly just leans into her, still breathing deeply until she feels like she’s standing on solid ground again.

Eventually, Nicole leads them out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. Waverly grabs the bare necessities of clothes with her nursing hoodie easily making it onto that list. She found it online a few weeks before Warner was born and has since found it a life saver. It’s easy enough to use when she needs to pump, and as an added bonus, she doesn’t have to expose her belly when pumping or even nursing while wearing it.

She knows that she shouldn’t be ashamed of her body, but she is a bit embarrassed by the changes. Her body doesn’t exactly feel like her own right now, and she hopes the feeling changes with time. Lately, her entire body has felt like it has belonged to Warner, and for the most part, she knows it has.

Waverly makes quick work of getting dressed, suddenly not wanting to be naked any longer than she has to be.

“How about we get something to eat?” Nicole asks, walking up behind Waverly and kissing her neck.

“Yeah, I guess.” Waverly agrees, though she knows she sounds distracted.

“We’ll be quick. How about we get something from Wyatt’s? I know it has like no nutritional value, but we need to eat something and I figured we could pick it up on the way to the homestead.”

“Wait, what? We’re going to the homestead? Since when?” Waverly asks, turning to face Nicole, thoroughly confused.

“I figured you’d want to go see Wynonna and everyone before we head out to Mattie’s. It’s not like it’s really that far from the homestead, anyway.” Nicole says with a shrug.

“We could pick up some better guns, too.” Waverly adds, trying to ignore the concerned look on Nicole’s face.

“Yeah, that too, I suppose.” Nicole agrees, even though Waverly is fairly certain she doesn’t actually _want_ to agree.

“I am not going to face Constance unprepared.Not when she has Warner.” Waverly snaps, defensive. It makes perfect sense to get as much firepower as they can before heading into what they both know is going to be the fight of their lives.

“I know, I agreed with you, Waverly.” Nicole reminds her.

That _is_ true.

“I have to pump before we go anywhere.” Waverly states, looking at Nicole.

“Okay. Do you want me to get us something and bring it back here, or…?” Nicole trails off.

Waverly does not want Nicole to leave her alone, and the look in her wife’s eyes seems to speak to Nicole not wanting to leave without her, either.

“No, stay. I know it’ll take a while, but I don’t want you to go, and then we can just head out when I’m done.” Waverly answers.

“Okay, then I’ll stay. You wanna go out into the living room? We can pull up Netflix and I’ll even suffer through an episode of Gilmore Girls for you, if you want.”

They get halfway through an episode of Gilmore Girls before Nicole starts arguing with the characters, but Waverly doesn’t mind. This feels almost normal. Sure, their last attempt at watching Gilmore Girls did not include a breast pump, but it still feels somewhat nice to pass the time like this. It’s not like they can really do anything else, seeing as they have to wait for 3AM to be able to do any real damage to Constance, and that’s still a few hours off.

Waverly knows that the drive to the homestead and then to Mattie’s will kill some time, but still, this isn’t so bad when she has to be attached to this pump. It doesn’t take much longer to finish pumping, and Waverly gets up from the couch in the midst of Nicole’s next criticism.

“Where are you going?” Nicole asks as Waverly moves past her.

“I have to go take care of this.” Waverly says, holding up the bottles she has filled.

“Oh, okay. Want me to pause it?”

Waverly doesn’t even look behind her as she replies, “No, it’s fine.”

Waverly pauses briefly in the kitchen, unsure if she should put the bottles in the fridge or if she should dump them entirely. She’s too tired to even argue with herself over every possibility that could face them in just a few hours, so instead she just puts the bottles in the fridge after writing down the times on them.

She will be feeding Warner those bottles later tonight, along with the other she pumped the day before. There will be reason to have them. They will get him back.

Waverly hopes that telling herself these things will somehow make them true.

It doesn’t take much convincing to make Nicole turn the TV off and head out to get food. Waverly’s biting into her burger the second Nicole hands her the bag, and then Nicole is pulling into a parking space so she can eat her meal, too. Waverly tries to not laugh at the fact that Nicole ordered a chicken nugget meal and extra barbecue sauce and insisted on checking the number of packets of sauce she got before she pulled out into the parking lot.

“What would you ever do without your beloved barbecue sauce?” Waverly asks with a smirk.

“We never need to find out.” Nicole says, voice mockingly serious and grave.

“Oh my god, I married a complete dork!” Waverly yells with a roll of her eyes before she bites into her burger again.

They make quick work of their meals, and Waverly’s glad Nicole ordered her a second order of fries because if she hadn’t, she is pretty sure she was going to steal Nicole’s. In fact, that’s probably why Nicole did that- a preemptive measure.

The drive out to the homestead goes faster than expected, mainly because Waverly falls asleep about ten minutes after they get out of town. Nicole’s gently shaking her awake, and Waverly doesn’t want to open her eyes, not yet. Sleep feels too good to abandon completely.

Unfortunately, with consciousness comes the flooding memories, and suddenly Waverly knows that she will not be getting back to sleep for a long while. She’s sitting up and unbuckling her seatbelt without a word to Nicole, determined to get inside the house before they freeze to death out in the truck.

“Wynonna?” Waverly calls out as she opens the door.

The door constantly being unlocked actually doesn’t jar Waverly anymore. She’s gotten used to it over time, especially since Willa came back. Truth is though that Wynonna was never good about locks, either. Never really remembering to lock the door behind her. But with Willa in the picture, locks aren’t even an option anymore.

“Waverly?” Comes Willa’s surprising reply.

Waverly wasn’t sure Willa was even here, and all of the sudden, there’s a rush of relief that comes with seeing her big sister standing in front of her.

“Willa…” Waverly whispers before enveloping her sister in a hug.

Willa stiffens only momentarily before hugging Waverly back with just as much force. They stand like that for a few seconds, and soon Waverly can hear Nicole talking to Wynonna behind them, but right now she just needs this contact with WIlla.

Finally, Waverly pulls away and Willa wipes at the tears that have made their way down Waverly’s cheeks. They just look at one another and Waverly feels like something is passing between them. Some knowledge has somehow been shared, even if Waverly can’t put her finger on exactly what it is.

“We came for guns.” Waverly says, turning to face Wynonna.

“That’s one thing we have plenty of here. Take what you need.” Wynonna says, looking at Waverly like she might break apart if she were to say the wrong thing.

Waverly suddenly remembers herself, “I- sorry, how- how is he? How’s Doc?” Waverly asks.

“Tired, but fine. Dolls is looking after him right now.”

Willa makes a noise from beside Waverly, and Waverly’s pretty sure it’s because she doesn’t actually agree with Dolls’ medical practices, but Willa also seems to know she doesn’t get to fight anyone on this. That, or Willa already tried to make her case before Waverly and Nicole got here- Waverly would bet money on that being the case.

In the end, Waverly ends up getting a shotgun for Nicole, and a Cougar for herself, opting more for a handgun without the spray of Oakley. Waverly wants precision- no, she needs it.

They don’t dawdle at the homestead, and Waverly only has to argue her point of going this alone to Wynonna twice, and Willa doesn’t even ask. Waverly is grateful for that fact the whole way to Mattie’s workshop.

They only have two hours left to them before the witching hour, and Waverly’s stomach is in knots at the fear and anticipation. They’re finally going to know exactly where Warner is. They’re about to go get their son back.

Walking into the workshop is somehow terrifying and exhilarating all in itself. Waverly grabs for Nicole’s hand, her other gripping tightly at Warner’s blanket. They find Mattie seated at the table, looking over something- Waverly can only assume it’s a map- until she gets close enough to confirm that it is.

“Feeling better, I see.” Mattie says without actually looking back at either of them.

“How can you tell?” Nicole asks from beside Waverly.

Mattie turns at that, smirking while she replies, “If you want the truth, Officer, it was your auras.”

Nicole makes a face at that, and Waverly can’t help but laugh. Nicole will believe in demons, witches, watch a damn spell to make an immortal man mortal, but _aura reading_ is where she draws the line.

Waverly’s laughter dies out pretty quickly as Nicole shoots her a questioning look, but thankfully, Mattie changes the subject before Waverly can answer the look on Nicole’s face.

“I see you brought what I need.” Mattie says, nodding at the blanket in Waverly’s hand.

Instinctively, Waverly pulls the blanket back towards her. Suddenly she’s worried about what exactly this spell could entail.

“This won’t- the blanket will be okay, right? It’s- it’s his favorite.” Waverly supplies in explanation, feeling dumb while she does.

“It will be fine, I just need it to get a location on his energy.” Mattie explains, reassuring Waverly.

Waverly’s just glad Mattie hasn’t actually moved to take the blanket from her yet. In fact, she wonders if Mattie will even make the move to do that, but she’s not about to waste time testing the theory. She steps closer to Mattie and holds out the blanket to her.

The spell itself doesn’t seem too involved as Mattie begins it, taking the blanket and setting it to the side of the map as she sprinkles a powder over the Ghost River Triangle outlined, and then begins chanting in what Waverly swears is Hungarian- not that it makes sense in Hungarian, (something about kittens, as far as Waverly can tell) but then again, it’s probably not Hungarian Mattie is speaking.

And then the map is lighting up. Whatever powder Mattie sprinkled on it is literally glowing.

“Is that? Are they there? Is my baby there?!” Waverly’s asking, her words going a mile a minute.

“That would be the place.” Mattie says, taking a marker and making a circle on the map of the location before the powder stops glowing, “Do you know where it is?” Mattie asks, looking at Waverly and Nicole.

“That old run down motel off of 7th street. Yeah, everyone knows it.” Waverly says, her mind making calculations as she stands there.

She’s pretty sure they can make it there with enough time to scope out the place and bust in without arousing suspicion, and even make it there before their deadline.

“And this is where my involvement with this ends. Take this and remember: I’m a dead woman.” Mattie says, handing Nicole the gallow silk.

Waverly’s not even sure she said anything after that, but they’re headed out to the truck now and details don’t seem to matter as much anymore. They have the information they need. They know where to go. They’ve got a plan.

This is going to work.

* * *

 

Waverly’s breath fogs in front of her as she waits just outside the front door of the motel room. It wasn’t hard to pay the guy manning the front desk. He easily gave up the information they needed, and she only had to slip him a twenty.

Waverly’s pretty sure she went to highschool with the guy, and she’s pretty sure he was just a forgettable then, seeing as she still can’t recall his name and she was _just_ staring at his nametag.

She takes a deep breath in, steels herself, and then uses the key the night manager just up and gave her. It might not be as dramatic of an entrance as say, kicking down the door would be, but Waverly doesn’t have the time for dramatics or alerting Constance to her presence in such a way.

She has Warner to think about.

Warner.

She hears him crying the second she opens the door. She’s slow at first, only inching the door open to peer inside. Constance has her back to the door, and Waverly slowly opens it farther. It takes everything in her to not throw the door open and grab Warner from that bitch’s hands, but she knows she has to play this like they talked about. They have a plan, and Waverly intends to stick to it as much as circumstances allow.

She knows she’s not alone in this, even if she has to put up the front that she is. She knows Nicole is waiting around back. She knows they are going to take the bitch off guard. But it’s still her entering this room alone. It’s still her facing down whatever is waiting in this dingy motel room, alone.

Warner’s crying is both comforting and distressing beyond words, but the second Constance speaks to try and soothe him, Waverly feels that fire burn to life in her chest like a wildfire.

“Shh, shhh, Mommy’s here. I’ve got you.”

Waverly slams the door shut behind her before she replies.

“You got one thing right; Mommy _is_ here, and let me tell you, you’re really not going to enjoy it.”

Constance turned towards her at the sound of the door, and her eyes go wide for just a few seconds before she’s grinning, and Waverly wants nothing more than to put a bullet in her brain right then and there, but she knows she can’t. Not when she’s holding Warner.

“Took you long enough, Waverly.” Constance practically coos as she bounces Warner in her arms.

He’s settling down now, but Waverly’s not. Not even close to it.

They’re so close. Waverly could cross this room and have him in her arms in just a few seconds flat. This is a new kind of torture that she didn’t account for- there was no way she really could have. That coil inside of her, full of hatred and guilt and fear, only seems to tighten as she looks at Constance.

“Well, you happen to be one hard bitch to find.” Waverly spits back in reply, eyes narrowing as she looks at Constance and then flicks her eyes down to Warner.

“Now, now, dear! Language! Wouldn’t want to set a bad example!” Constance says tsking at Waverly as she rubs Warner’s back. “But then again, that’s all you Earps are good at, right?”

Waverly opens her mouth to reply, but Constance beats her to it.

“Look at you, just like your mother,” Constance says, raking her eyes up and down Waverly’s frame, “You look like her, all doe-eyed, far too young to be anything good for a child. I mean, how can you take care of a baby when you’re just a child yourself?”

Waverly steps closer to Constance and tries to ignore that coil tightening inside of her again. She would rather focus on the rage; her rage is what will get her through this, after all.

“You couldn’t even keep your legs closed. Stupid little Earp girl with her mind between her thighs. I mean really, you’re just like her.”

“Shut up and give me back my son!” Waverly screams, not caring what anyone around them might think.

“What makes you think you deserve to have him back, Waverly?” Constance says, holding Warner tighter to her.

“I’m his MOTHER!” Waverly argues, letting that rage boil over.

Warner starts screaming again, wailing harder than Waverly has ever heard him, and all she wants to do is run to him and soothe him. She just wants to take care of her baby, but that’s not a possibility yet.

“And look at what a good job you’re doing, darling!” Constance yells above Warner as she starts bouncing him again. He only cries harder. “It was so easy for me to take him from you!”

Waverly’s heart is hammering against her chest, and she feels like she was just punched in the gut as Constance’s words hit her, “No, you clearly don’t deserve to walk out of this room with him.”

Warner is still crying, but it’s not the loud wailing he had been doing just moments ago. Waverly’s not sure if she should count that as a victory or not. All she wants is Warner back in her arms, and if she has to go off-script to get him there, then she will do it.

“I swear to god, I will shoot you where you stand if you don’t just give-” Waverly yells out every word as she draws her gun and lines it up, aiming between Constance’s eyes.

“Yes, yes, you want him back. I’ve gotten that part already, but we have been _over_ this. You’re unworthy, like you’ve always been, isn’t that right? Never been the one that mattered, and this right here is no different.” Constance says, stepping back the smallest bit.

At least Waverly can assume she’s making some progress if Constance is trying to inch her way to the backdoor of the room. Granted, the door just leads out to a mostly empty pool, but it would be an escape nonetheless, and Waverly isn’t about to give her as much.

Waverly keeps her gun aimed at Constance’s head.

“Oh, you seem serious now. Got that same look that Wyatt would get when he was aiming to kill. But really, you’re not thinking this through, Waverly. Don’t know that killing me will kill your beloved Doc Holliday?” Constance says, laughing all the while.

“That’s a gamble I’m willing to take.” Waverly says, not willing to tip her hand about Doc.

“Oh, have you grown so cold-hearted in just the day that I’ve had him? I suppose it’s been two now, but still! What kind of mother would you make?” Constance asks, sounding disgusted before holding Warner out from her body, his back resting on her forearm, head in her hand.

Waverly’s still aiming the gun at Constance’s head, but she knows she won’t shoot; not yet, not with Warner in the line of fire.

“What if I just ended it all right now?” Constance asks, looking Warner over as if calculating, “What if I did to him what you did to _my_ boy! He’s so malleable like this, it wouldn’t even be that difficult to smash his little skull, and it would serve you right! You don’t just get to walk away unscathed-”

“Give me my son back you crazy bitch!” Waverly yells, cutting off Constance’s tirade.

“No, you don’t deserve him! Look at you, you're a pathetic mess- and all alone, too! What? Couldn’t even keep his father around?” Constance says with a sharp laugh.

“Surprise bitch, Daddy’s home.” Nicole says before hitting Constance in the side of the face with the butt of her shotgun.

Two things happen at once: Constance goes down, and Nicole grabs Warner from Constance’s arm’s. Waverly runs towards them both, looking Warner over as he screams louder and louder. Waverly’s mind is racing, she wants to check him over and make sure he’s okay but she knows she can’t just yet. She knows there is still more to do; Constance is still a threat.

Waverly moves from Warner over to Constance and immediately ties her hands together using the gallow silk.

Constance screams at the contact, but then begins laughing.

“You think this is enough to hold me? You seem to be forgetting just who I am.” Constance says with more pealing laughter.

“And you seem to be forgetting who _I_ am.” Waverly growls out, pulling Constance up to a sitting position.

Warner is still crying behind her, but he’s settling some as Nicole speaks to him, cooing softly. Waverly doesn’t even look behind her as she practically barks orders at her wife.

“Nicole, take him out to the truck.”

“What? I’m not leaving you-”

Waverly doesn’t let Nicole finish, “I said, take him out to the truck. I’ll be fine!”

There is only a moment’s hesitation before Nicole is moving, and then Warner’s cries are muffled as the door to the motel closes behind them.

“Finally alone.” Waverly muses.

“What, you want some quality girl time?” Constance shoots back in reply.

“Something like that” Waverly laughs before she punches Constance in the face where Nicole struck her with the gun earlier.

“You think this makes you any different from them?” Constance asks with a laugh.

Waverly pulls Constance’s face up, using her hair to do so.

“Different than who?” Waverly asks, face inches from Constance’s

“Your family, of course! Your whore mother was filled with the same rage you are, always so high and mighty, but deep down, she was broken. And this whole town has seen just how broken you are, Waverly! Though I suppose you never really had a chance; not with a bloodline like that. You came from broken parts.” Constance says her words pressured.

“Shut your fucking mouth!” Waverly spits out, pressing the barrel of her gun into Constance’s forehead.

“Oh, did I strike a nerve? What? I thought you’d love to know just how similar you are to your dear mother!” Constance coos, “Oh wait, maybe you’re worried that you’ll leave just like she did? I mean, really, what kind of a person leaves her children with a man like Ward?”

Waverly doesn’t say anything, she just presses the gun into Constance’s forehead even harder

“I bet you’ve thought about it. Just up and leaving when he won’t stop crying. You’ve got it in your blood; broken parts and restless feet. The only thing your mother was ever good at was not being there, and you’re just like her. If you stay, you’ll just break that little boy like Ward broke you. The best thing your mother ever did was leave you in the hands of a drunk who never paid you any mind. You were simply the afterthought- if he even bothered to think of you at all,” Constance scoffs before continuing, “A mother’s love did that to you, Waverly. That’s your legacy.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.

You don’t know anything about my life.” Waverly says, pushing off of Constance.

“I know more than you think. And from what I can tell, that does not seem like a happy marriage to me. I mean, it’s not like I can judge his character, but at least _my_ husband admitted to being a demon- reveled in it, actually.” Constance hums a little at the memory, and Waverly spins on her

“You stole our son!” Waverly yells.

“Maybe,” Constance shrugs, “But those cracks were there before I ever came along- even a blind man could see that! Trapped him into it. I mean, you must have; sweet little young thing like you, all you had to do was open your legs and he was yours, right? But he won’t stay, there is no way he could ever love you. I mean, look at you, you’ve got me held hostage!” Constance raises her bound arms up as if to add emphasis to her point.

“You deserve death ten thousand times over.” Waverly snarls.

“You’ll be alone for the rest of your life, at least. I am actually going to get everything I want. You won’t have anything to your name.” Constance chirps, “You destroy everything you touch, and you can’t blame that on some curse that doesn’t even affect you. You trapped yourself in this sad little life, Waverly and it’s all about to fall apart. You did this to yourself.”

Waverly doesn't even blink when she pulls the trigger.

Constance doesn’t die like Waverly assumed she would. Her body falls back with a dull thud like Waverly expected, but that’s the end of anything remotely normal. Soon her body goes stiff and then blackens, looking as if it’s caving in on itself as the almost burning effect takes hold and travels up what used to be Constance Clootie. Soon she is reduced to a pile of ash.

“Well, shit.” Waverly hums, looking down at what remains of the Stone Witch.

Waverly turns as Nicole rushes inside the room, chest heaving, “What are you- what is that?! Whatever, we have to go. Now. I am pretty sure that gunshots warrant a call to the police, even in seedy-ass motels on the outskirts of town.”

“But _you’re_ the police.” Waverly replies, her brain not working on all cylinders.

“Which is why we _really_ have to go. Leave the pile of dust and come on!” Nicole yells as she grabs Waverly’s arm and pulls her out of the room.

Waverly climbs into the backseat of the truck next to Warner, who is still wide awake in his carseat.

“Hi, baby boy! I missed you so much!” Waverly is on him in a second, looking him over and kissing every single part of him that she can, “Is he okay?” Waverly asks, looking up at Nicole in the front seat.

“As far as I can tell, yeah.” Nicole replies as she pulls out of the motel parking spot and starts driving down the road.

Waverly’s not paying attention to where they’re going. All she cares about is that Warner is back safely with them.

* * *

 

 _“Round and round the cobbler's bench,_  
_The monkey chased the weasel,_  
_The monkey thought 'twas all in fun  
_ Pop! Goes the weasel.”

Waverly sings the little tune with Warner lying on her chest. She rubs his back as she continues to sing softly to him and he calms down considerably. At least now she knows that the tradition that Curtis started will live on.

Waverly couldn’t breathe properly until they went and got a clean bill of health for Warner. The moment they peeled out of the motel parking lot, they were on their way to the emergency room.

It was nerve wracking, waiting to be seen, waiting to know what Constance may or may not have done to him. She's pretty sure an ancient evil witch was not too concerned with tummy time, after all. But it turned out that he’s just fine. No issues to speak of, according to the doctor who looked him over.

Coming up for an excuse for their visit was actually the hardest part, but thankfully, the staff bought it as Waverly and Nicole being overly-concerned first time parents.

It’s not as if they could just come right out and say their baby was kidnapped by demons raised from hell by a curse meant to torture the descendants of Wyatt Earp.

But Warner’s fine. That’s all Waverly needed to know. That’s all either of them needed to know. He is just fine, and he’s right back where he belongs; with them.

“He really loves your singing,” Nicole says, climbing into bed next to Waverly, “And so do I.”

“You’re just saying that because you have to.” Waverly says with an embarrassed laugh.

“I most certainly am not! What kind of woman do you take me for, Waverly Haught?!” Nicole asks in mock indignation, “Look, Waverly, do you like my singing?”

Nicole takes a deep breath in, and Waverly cuts her off just as she opens her mouth again, “Oh god, no!”

“See? I am in no way obligated to say you have a beautiful voice!” Nicole argues her point, leaning over to kiss Waverly, stroking the top of Warner’s head as she does so.

“Fine, fine!” Waverly finally concedes.

“Good. Glad you’re finally seeing sense.” Nicole says, smug.

“Whatever you say.” Waverly hums in reply, looking down at Warner.

Her body is exhausted and begging for sleep. She aches in places she didn’t even know she could ache. But sleep isn’t an option; not when she could be looking at Warner, who is quickly falling asleep on her.

“I think we should move out of Purgatory.” Nicole whispers into the stillness of their bedroom.

Waverly is wide awake as she looks over at her wife. In all honesty, she expected this conversation, though not so soon. She thought they would at least get a full day with Warner before Nicole brought up the prospect of leaving.

Waverly knows she needs to reply, but she’s not really sure what she should say. However, she knows she needs to say _something_. She opens her mouth, not sure what is going to come out of it, only to have Nicole steamroll over her.

“And before you start arguing about why we need to stay here for your family, I would like to remind you that your sisters are all grown up, and there are still Revenants running around. Peacemaker can only kill so many at a time. I know that Willa and Wynonna are doing their best, but even magical guns don’t have unlimited rounds. It’s the better option; it means we can finally be safe. This isn’t your curse, Waverly; it’s not your cross to bear.”

Nicole's words hang between them as Waverly tries to think of a reply. Before she’s finally settled on one, her mouth is open and words are coming out.

“You’re right.”

Well, that was unexpected.

Nicole even looks taken aback. Waverly’s pretty sure she had a whole slew of arguments if Waverly put up more of a resistance to the idea. But Nicole is right, though. Nicole is one hundred percent right.

“But I can’t just leave them; they’re my _family,_ Nicole. I’ve finally started to feel like I really got my family back in the last year.” Waverly admits.

There’s the argument they both seemed to be looking for.

“I know, but-” Nicole starts, but Waverly doesn’t let her get any further.

“No, you don’t know, Nicole.” Waverly starts, voice tense. Warner squirms in Waverly’s arms, whining at the change in tone.

Waverly sits up slowly and then rubs Warner’s back, settling him down before she leans over to the cot they brought into their room and sets Warner down into it on his back. She plops a binky into his mouth and he sucks on it happily. Waverly is not going to deny her son any comfort he can get right now, and she knows this conversation is about to take a turn.

“Waverly…” Nicole almost sounds like she is pleading, and Waverly thinks on some level that she might be doing just that.

“Let me finish, Nicole.” Waverly snaps, and the silence she is greeted with is answer enough before she continues, “My family has always been broken. We thought Willa was dead and Wynonna killed my father and then she disappeared the second she could. Everyone has been so scattered, and we only just started finding a balance, feeling like a real family for once. I know things aren’t perfect here, but I don’t want to just run away.”

Waverly finishes into silence that stretches for a few seconds longer than anticipated before Nicole ventures to ask, “Are you finished? I don’t want to interrupt again.”

Waverly sighs, but loses most of her fight, too tired for that. In all honesty, she’s too tired for this conversation, but it’s one they need to have, so it’s happening regardless.

“Go ahead.” Waverly finally says.

“Look, I understand that your family means a lot to you. I understand that it means a lot to be near them all again. I’m not saying we move out of the state or something. I just-” Nicole cuts herself off and sighs as she sits up, looking at Waverly and then over to the cot- Waverly can see Nicole’s eyeline shift, “I just want _our_ family to be safe.”

Waverly sits there and looks at Nicole. They’re both exhausted and it’s not like Waverly can really argue Nicole’s logic. But still, there’s a lot she would be giving up. A lot that she only just got back. It doesn’t feel right to leave, it feels too much like she’s just pushing everything off on her sisters. Abandoning them, even.

But then Warner makes smalls noises from his bassinet, and Waverly’s looking down at him, gently rubbing his tummy, and she can’t help but give in.

“Okay.” Waverly says, still looking at Warner.

“Okay?” Nicole asks.  
  
Waverly looks back at Nicole as she clarifies, “Okay, we can move. We _should_ move.” She’s nodding with her words as if the action can make her feel more solid about the choice she has just made, but this has to be right, it's the only option that makes any real sense.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This](http://www.babybeauandbelle.com/Jack-Jumpsuit-p/jak00.htm) is the outfit Warner is put into in this chapter btw

“You ready?” Waverly asks, bouncing and rocking from side to side as she holds Warner to her chest.

“Give me a second.” Nicole says, easing herself into the bathtub.

“I would like to remind you that I have a very squirmy and very naked little boy in my arms, which means you really need to hurry up.” Waverly reminds Nicole, doing her best to keep Warner calm.

“Okay, okay, I’m good. Give him here.” Nicole says, now sitting up in the tub, her knees drawn up as she reaches out towards Warner.

Waverly leans over and hands him off and of course, the moment he is in Nicole’s arms, an idea hits her- one she should have really had sooner.

“Oh my god, I need to record this! I’ll be right back; don’t start without me!” Waverly says, rushing out of the bathroom.

She hears Nicole yell something when she leaves, but she doesn’t pay her wife much mind. Whatever Nicole has to say will probably be repeated upon Waverly's return- and recorded at that- so she is not overly concerned.

Once she's in their bedroom, Waverly swipes her cell phone off of the nightstand and heads back into the bathroom, pulling up her camera as she goes.

“Okay, okay, I think we're…” Waverly elongates her last word as she makes sure she actually has the video recorder up, thumb hovering over the record button before hitting it, “Good to go...” She finally finishes, distracted while trying to keep her camera work as steady as possible.

“Waverly, I vaguely understand your pathological _need_ to record his every moment, but please let me remind you that I AM NUDE!”

At Nicole's outburst, Warner starts whining and crying. Waverly leans away from the camera to glare at Nicole after a few seconds of glaring, sufficient enough to get the point across, Waverly wordlessly grabs a washcloth off of the countertop and tosses it at her head, said washcloth actually goes past Nicole’s head and hits the wall beside her. Waverly can’t help but be a bit disappointed at her aim, though she admits it's probably for the best that she missed.

“Hey! I have precious cargo, here!” Nicole yells at Waverly.

“Yeah, yeah, now get to washing, Woman! Or he will never stop crying.” Waverly says from behind her phone.

“Jesus, Waves, are you actually filming this?!” Nicole says, exasperated as she looks over at Waverly.

“Of course I am- it’s his first real bath!” Waverly replies, defensive from her perch on the closed toilet seat.

Warner is still crying, which is what leads Nicole to situating him so that he’s laying back against her thighs as she pours what little water is in the bathtub over him. Once the water hits him, he jumps a bit and then he’s still whining, but really calms down as Nicole continues to pour water over him slowly.

“Hand me the body wash?” Nicole asks, looking up from Warner and over to Waverly.

Waverly nods and then grabs Warner’s body wash from the side of the tub, going one further and  lathering it up on a washcloth for Nicole. In all of this, she had to put down her phone but kept it recording even as it sits camera down on the side of the sink. She picks up the phone again as she hands over the washcloth to Nicole.

Warner has quieted down now, enjoying the physical contact, especially when Nicole starts to lather him up with the washcloth.

“You like that, Bubba?” Nicole asks, smiling down at Warner.

No matter Nicole’s protests, Waverly knew documenting this moment was a good idea. And besides, she doesn’t exactly plan on showing Warner the video unless he actually gets curious enough to want to see it down the road. These early things are mainly just for their own enjoyment and Waverly is not about to apologize for that.

Besides, knowing she will have these moments to show Warner if he ever _does_ ask is a comfort to Waverly, herself. It’s not as if her childhood was documented in real way before she was in Gus and Curtis’ care, and by that time, a lot of those really big milestones had long since passed. She told herself she was going to be better than her parents, and she’s trying to start as early as possible. If it ends up embarrassing Warner down the road, then...well, that’s just a small perk.

“We’ve gotta get you all nice and clean before Grandma and Grandpa get here, yes we do.” Nicole says as she pours water over Warner’s front, “Okay, I’m gonna try and like, scoot down into the water so I can get his back. Just like...make sure I don’t fu- screw it up.”

Waverly’s still holding her phone, but she looks out from behind it as Nicole lays Warner on his stomach against her chest. She has a hold on him when she goes to scoot down and lays in the water. Nicole gets down easy enough, but Waverly laughs when she realizes she will eventually have to get back up. There will be a small rescue mission soon, Waverly is fully aware.

Soon enough, Waverly has stopped recording and is leaning over the tub with Warner’s towel and scooping him up into her arms and Nicole slides up to a sitting position soon after.

“Can you get him dressed? I wanna take a shower- I feel kinda gross and I am freezing.”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Waverly mutters, still looking at Warner as she picks her phone up and heads out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

She starts drying Warner off and grabs a fresh diaper from the dresser before she places Warner down on the bed. He starts making small noises as Waverly leans her face in close to his and gives him small kisses on his cheeks and soon she changes him into the diaper, kissing his tummy as she finishes.

“That’s better, now isn’t it?” Waverly asks, rubbing Warner’s tummy before picking him up, wrapped in his towel, hood and all, and carrying him into the nursery.

The room has been sitting mostly abandoned since they got Warner back about a week ago. Waverly hasn’t even wanted to go inside and has made Nicole get whatever was needed from it whenever possible. Now, however, she has no option; her little boy needs to get dressed.

She walks over to the closet and surveys the options before pulling out an outfit she knows Judy will appreciate.

“Time for clothes, Little Man.” Waverly says, bouncing Warner in her arms before kissing his temple and walking them over to the changing table.

Waverly somehow manages to get Warner into the jumpsuit, though it takes a few tries as he does not want to be still, and when she gets one leg in, he kicks out and she has to start all over again. But he’s dressed now and that is what matters. Getting the matching hat on him is much easier than anticipated but the booties, however, are hell.

Waverly carries him out of the nursery and back into the bedroom just as Nicole exits the bathroom, steam billowing out behind her. Nicole glances at them, securing the towel around her chest and heads over to the closet, only to stop dead in her tracks and look back at Warner.

“Waverly, what the fuck is my son wearing?” Nicole asks, eyebrow raised.

“The outfit your _mother_ gave us.” Waverly supplies in answer, smug.

Nicole just sighs heavily as she turns back to the closet and picks out her outfit. Waverly occupies herself with Warner, placing him down on his baby mat, tummy down. As she predicted, he starts screaming in protest.

“I know, Sweetheart, I know. But this is so good for your development, just trust me.” Waverly says, getting down on the floor with him, facing toward him.

“Yeah, we don’t want you to have a flat spot on your head!” Nicole calls from the other side of the room.

Warner cries louder in response.

“You upset him!” Waverly snaps as she rubs Warner’s back, trying to soothe him.

“He _should_ be upset by the prospect of a flat head!” Nicole asserts.

Eventually, Warner calms down and they all head toward the kitchen, Nicole now fully-clothed. Waverly rubs Warner’s back and then sits down on the couch to nurse him when he starts fussing and as soon as he latches on, she knows she’s going to be stuck there for up to half an hour.

Thankfully, they prepared for this,-or at least, Waverly did. Most of her day was spent split between Warner and this damn meal, so it has to be good. Which is why she isn’t completely comfortable having Nicole take over, but there’s not much she can do when she has a baby attached to her boob.

“Can you put the casserole in the oven?” Waverly calls to Nicole from her seat on the couch.

“Yeah, sure; what should I set it to?” Nicole asks from the kitchen.

“350. You did say they’re on their way, right?” Waverly asks.

“Yeah, Mom texted me a little while ago. They’re an hour and a half away, as it is.” Nicole says, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch, leaving a cushion between her and Waverly.

Soon enough, the oven’s alarm goes off, signaling that it’s preheated, and Nicole gets up from the couch and walks back into the kitchen. Waverly can hear the fridge door open, and a few seconds later, Nicole closing the oven door. Now it’s just a waiting game.

Waverly looks around the living room. A few of Orie’s toys are strewn around the floor and the aforementioned dog is curled into a ball, snoozing on the floor- right next to the dog bed he could be using but never does. Instead, Whiskey is curled up on the bed and Waverly can’t complain, given that the bed is being used, at the very least.

The house isn’t as much of a wreck as it was just this morning. There are no more burp cloths littering every surface of the house and there aren’t a ton of bottles cluttering up the counters in the kitchen (most of them are drying on the rack now). All in all, it doesn’t look like a tornado ripped through the house. Waverly should feel good about all of this, about the state of things, but she doesn’t. In fact, she’s starting stress as she remembers that this is going to be the first time Nicole’s parents are visiting since she has been living here.

Waverly was all excited the play hostess when the prospect of having visitors over came up, but then Warner started crying and everything fell apart as reality set in. Sure, the house doesn’t look torn apart, but that doesn’t mean it’s not still a mess.

Waverly’s beginning to feel inadequate... and parched.

“Hey, Babe? Can you get me some water?” Waverly asks, only to look up and see Nicole standing there with a glass of water already in hand.

“Oh, thanks.” Waverly says, taking the drink from her wife.

“You always forget to get a drink.” Nicole says with a shake of her head as she flops down on the couch next to Waverly and turns the TV on.

Warner has stopped nursing and now Waverly’s wishing she actually hadn’t cleaned up as well as she did as she now has to go hunt down a burp cloth.

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to go far as there is one on the dresser in their bedroom. She slings the cloth over her shoulder and then situates Warner over it as she pats his back. It doesn’t take long before he burps- thankfully without making a mess in the process.

“There you go, there you go, such a good boy.” Waverly coos as she rubs Warner’s back and walks into the living room with him.

“So, tell me again why you have him in this monstrosity?” Nicole says, getting up and tugging lightly at the hem of Warner’s jumpsuit.

“Because your mother, the woman who raised you, and loves you, and spent her time and money picking this out, gave it to us!” Waverly responds as she pulls Warner away the slightest bit, setting him down in his baby swing and putting it on slow.

“But it’s ugly! The hat’s okay, but doesn’t it seem a bit much? I mean, we have the heat going in here. It’s not like he’s going to get cold.” Nicole argues, walking back to the couch.

“One night in the outfit won’t kill him- or you, for that matter.” Waverly says, following Nicole to the couch and sitting down.

“Fine, fine, whatever you say.” Nicole finally relents, sighing.

“See? You’re learning already.” Waverly says, patting Nicole’s cheek before turning her attention to the TV, “Oh god, what are we watching?”

“Westworld.” Nicole replies, shifting in her seat to get more comfortable.

“Ugh, really? There is a baby in the room; I don’t think this is appropriate!” Waverly says, trying to grab for the remote control.

Nicole holds the remote over the back of the couch and away from Waverly, “You’re just saying that because you don’t wanna watch it.”

“Give-” Waverly starts, climbing over Nicole, now straddling her as she leans into her personal space, “-me the freakin’ remote!” She growls out, trying in vain to grab the remote.

“No.” Nicole says, stretching her arm back as far as it will go, smirking at Waverly in the process.

“Oh, come on, Nicole. Wouldn’t you rather pay attention to _me_ and not some stupid TV show?” Waverly asks, pulling back enough to face her.

Nicole raises an eyebrow as she responds, “You aren’t going to win me over with this; I know we can’t have sex yet. And besides,” Nicole pauses for dramatic effect, “It’s not TV. It’s HBO.”

Waverly’s only response is to throw her head back, eyes closed as she sighs out all her long-suffering frustration.

“Oh, come on. Being married to me can’t be that bad.” Nicole hums, leaning up towards Waverly.

“It’s awful!” Waverly moans dramatically, opening one eye and peeking down at Nicole.

“Oh, really?” Nicole asks, eyebrow raised.

“It’s pure torture.” Waverly admits with a nod, though she’s grinning now.

“Mhm, I bet.” Nicole says, leaning up and kissing Waverly’s neck.

“Completely unbearable.” Waverly whispers as Nicole continues to pepper smalls kisses to her neck.

“How do you stand it?” Nicole asks, mouth against Waverly's skin.

“I don’t even know.” Waverly says, voice soft as she pulls Nicole closer.

“Well, if you just let me watch my show, maybe you’ll get a break from the torture.” Nicole says, pulling back and looking at Waverly now.

Waverly groans and deflates as she glares at Nicole, who is trying to look over her shoulder at the TV.

Nicole wordlessly lifts Waverly off of her and causes Waverly to loses her balance, falling back against the armrest of the couch, glaring at her wife.

“You are absolutely no fun.” Waverly says with a half-hearted kick to Nicole’s thigh.

“I am tons of fun, thankyouverymuch.” Nicole says matter-of-factly as she turns the volume up on the TV, glancing over at Warner as she does so.

Warner for his part doesn’t even stir, lulled to sleep for the time being. Waverly huffs, arms crossed over her chest as she glares back at Nicole, who isn’t even bothering to pay attention to her, engrossed in her show.

* * *

 

Waverly hears Judy and Greg pull into the driveway just as the timer for the casserole goes off, which _should_ feel like perfect timing, but of course, doesn’t. Everything feels like it’s all happening too fast, and now Nicole is going to have to be the one to answer the door.

There goes Waverly getting to really play hostess.

The doorbell rings and Waverly knows Nicole has gotten up to answer it because she lowered the volume on the TV. Then Waverly can hear them in the next room, all loud voices and excitement, and she’s kind of glad she’s able to hide in the kitchen for a few more seconds.

It’s not that she dislikes Nicole’s parents, everything just feels a bit overwhelming at the moment. Especially having to entertain guests who don’t and _can’t_ know anything about the last few week’s’ events. She pulls the casserole out of the oven and places it on top of the stove before straightening up, smoothing the skirt of her dress, and taking a deep breath, trying to steel herself for tonight’s little get together.

Maybe this was too much, too soon, given everything that has happened to them, but it’s not as if they could keep Judy and Greg away forever. It’s not as if Waverly would _want_ to keep them away, either. It’s just... she’s overwhelmed. And now it feels like this whole idea was just pushing herself too hard, not that there is anything she can really do about it now. Besides, they need to test the waters about moving and how much Greg could help in that department. Though Nicole is going to be handling that line of questioning.

Finally, she heads out to the living room, only to bump into Judy on her way out.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Dear! I was actually just coming to check on you; Nicole said you’d be in here.” Judy says, looking Waverly up and down briefly before she tucks Waverly’s hair behind her ear.

“I was just coming out to see you guys. The food’s cooling- you guys like chicken enchilada casserole, right?”

“Oh, that sounds lovely.” Judy says as she links her arm with Waverly’s and walks them out to the living room.

The sensation of having a mom- or at least someone to seemingly fill the role in her life- is still very new. Waverly’s honestly not sure how she should feel about it, but it’s not necessarily bad, just...different.

“-Fruity little outfit.”

Waverly and Judy enter the room at the end of whatever sentence Greg was saying, holding Warner out from his body to inspect him, it seems. He has enough sense to blush when he turns and notices them now standing in the room.

“What was that, Gregory?” Judy asks, pulling away from Waverly and walking up to her husband, taking the baby from his arms.

Greg clears his throat and doesn’t exactly make eye contact with anyone in the room. Waverly can’t help but take a deep satisfaction in this turn of events, and beyond that, the resemblance between Nicole and her father is sometimes striking in moments like these.

“Nothing.” Greg finally mumbles as he sits down in Nicole’s recliner.

Waverly looks over at Nicole, only to see her close her mouth, wisely rethinking whatever it may have been that she initially wanted to say.

“That’s what I thought. Besides, you’re the one who paid for this _darling_ little outfit of his, anyway.” Judy coos, looking at Warner as she sits down and straightens out his jumpsuit.

Greg just grunts in reply.

Waverly’s head is spinning as she looks at the scene in front of her, worried for a second that this interaction is what the future has in store for her and Nicole. She’s only brought out of her thoughts when Nicole walks up to her, placing her hand on Waverly’s arm.

“You okay?” Nicole whispers, looking Waverly over.

“Yeah.” Waverly says, voice shaky, “Yeah, I’m fine, really.” She attempts to reassure Nicole, plastering a smile on her face.

In all honesty, Waverly’s not sure what she’s feeling, but it doesn’t seem to be all bad, at the very least. She sits down on the couch next to Judy and smiles at her when she glances up from Warner.

“Oh, he’s so well behaved already; just like Nicole, that way!” Judy says, smiling up at her daughter, who has taken a seat next to Waverly on the couch.

“Mom!” Nicole says, sounding annoyed, but Waverly sees the blush creeping up her neck.

“Oh, but you were such a good baby, though! You never really fussed- too preoccupied with observing everything. Your father swore up and down you’d be the little detective out of everyone-”

Judy is cut off there as Nicole protests.

“Mom, enough, I think we get it!”

“What the _hell_ is that thing?” Greg exclaims suddenly.

Everyone looks to where he is pointing at Orie, who is now wide awake, tail wagging as he realizes there are new people in the house. He makes a beeline for Greg.

“A mini Australian Shepherd.”

“Ferocious guard dog you got yourself, Nic.” Greg sneers as Orie jumps up into his lap and starts licking his face.

“I-” Nicole starts. but Waverly beats her to the punch.

“He gets along with Warner. and that’s all that matters.”

“Actually, Baby, he kind of doesn’t.” Nicole whispers to Waverly. who frowns as she responds.

“Yes, well, Orie doesn’t seem to know that, and neither does your father.”

“Uh-huh. So what did you name the little mongrel?” Greg asks, pushing Orie away from his face.

“Oreo.”  Waverly says, still very proud of the name she chose for him.

“Well, really we mostly just call him Orie.” Nicole offers up.

“That seems...fitting.” Greg says, looking down at Orie, skeptical.

It’s not too long before everyone is sitting down to eat and they ooh and aah the moment Waverly comes out with the casserole. Greg actually gets himself two helpings, though he earns himself a disapproving look from Judy, who mutters something about, ‘What the doctor said.’ But there are still compliments thrown all over the place for Waverly’s cooking until most of the conversation has died out into a lazy hum as everyone digests their meal.

Nicole hasn’t brought up moving yet, and Waverly is starting to feel antsy. She might not be one hundred percent on board with the plan, but she knows it’s the best one they’ve got, and it will keep them all safe, and that’s all that should matter. Though there is still this small, gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach at the prospect of leaving her family and everything she’s ever known. As much as Waverly has wanted to get out of Purgatory, she’s always seemed to find herself trapped, especially now that she owns Shorty’s. Though there have been offers over the years (people wanting to buy the place and drain it for all the tourism they can) Shorty and now Waverly have always shot them down.

Now, though, she has a few business cards sitting on the night stand, and it feels like they’re silently mocking her.

“So, Dad, what’s been going on with you guys? Jamie still raising hell?” Nicole asks.

The question is innocent enough, but Waverly assumes this is Nicole’s way of leading them into moving territory.

“You know your sister; hardly ever gives us a moment’s peace. That girl might just be the death of me. Things are good, though-” Greg cuts himself off with another forkful of casserole.

“She's like that because you guys spoil her.” Nicole offers.

“You’ve got it all figured out, huh? Haven’t even been a mom for a month but you know it all now, Nicole?” Judy teases, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“No, I just...you guys have always spoiled her!” Nicole argues, trying to dig her way out of the hole she has created.

“Yeah, yeah, well there are some new things going on in the neighborhood-”

“Greg, I don’t think they want to hear about that.” Judy cuts in, and now Waverly’s curiosity is peaked.

“Nicole asked me a question, Judy; I’m just answering.” Greg says, moving his fork as he talks, “Anyway, you remember the Hendersons? Well, they’re finally packing up and moving out- if they can sell that house of thiers. Actually,” Greg pauses as he takes a sip of water, “A few of the houses in our neighborhood have opened up, if you were ever interested, maybe I could put in a call…?” Greg leads, and Nicole has little choice but to follow.

“Funny you should mention that-” Nicole says, getting cut off by Judy.

“Oh my god, are you two really thinking of moving to Denver?!”

“No. I mean, yes- Mom, it’s just an idea- an _idea_ -” Nicole tries to explain, taking Waverly’s hand in hers on the table.

“Oh my goodness! You could stay with us until you got on your feet, of course! We would love to have you all with us, especially little Warner-”

“What?!” Greg says, but Nicole steamrolls over her father.

“Mom, Mom, listen; we would not be staying with you guys. If we did this, and that is an _if,_ it would still be a while coming. We have loose ends to tie up here; Waverly-” Nicole looks over at her and smiles for a second before turning back to her parents and continuing, “She has a business here and we can’t just pack up and hand that off to someone else. There are things we need to consider ad we’re not even sure we want-”

“Oh, but it would be so good for you- all three of you! We could watch Warner whenever you needed us to, and I know Jamie wouldn’t mind-”

“Mom, it’s an _idea_. Let’s not get carried away!” Nicole tries to break into her mother’s little sales pitch.

The only thing that seems to stop the chaos currently happening around the dinner table is Warner crying from his swing, which they moved next to the dining room table before they sat down to eat. Waverly moves to get him, but Judy actually beats her to it.

It feels as if there is no air left in the room suddenly. Waverly knows she is overreacting, she knows Judy is no danger to them, but the sight of Warner in someone’s arms, someone who isn’t her or Nicole, sends up every red flag Waverly has right now. She clutches her napkin in her hand and then drops it onto the table, moving to take Warner from Judy.

“Oh, don’t worry, Dear. It looks like he’s just a bit wet. I’ll take care of it; you just go back to eating. I know you probably don’t get much time to yourself, now. We’ll be right back.” Judy says, waving Waverly off.

“No, I- it’s okay, really.” Waverly starts in, reaching for Warner.

“It might have been years since my last diaper change, but it’s not something you just forget after five kids, Waverly. He’s fine, I’ve got him, really.” Judy says, bouncing Warner in her arms as she starts to move towards the nursery.

Waverly bites back all of the replies just sitting on her tongue. She wants to just grab Warner back, but that’s not exactly an option. Not when no one but Nicole knows about what they’ve been through just recently. There is no way to explain her need to be near her son so desperately. There is no way to explain the gut-churning fear shooting through her entire body right now. So she just stands there for a few seconds as she watches Judy shuffle off with Warner in her arms.

“Can you say, ‘it’s okay, Mommy, we’ll be right back?’ Yes we will! Oh yes we will.” Judy coos to Warner, picking up one of his arms and making him wave goodbye.

Waverly wants to scream.

Instead, she sits back down at the table and moves her food around with her fork, completely uninterested in her meal. Every second without Warner within eyesight is excruciating. And from the way Nicole is clutching her fork and staring too intensely at her plate, her wife feels the same way.

“So, what brought this on?” Greg asks, clearing his throat.

“Huh? What?” Nicole asks, looking up at her father.

Waverly looks up at Greg, too. So lost in her own thoughts she forgot what they had even been talking about before.

“This ‘idea’-” Greg actually uses air quotes around the word idea, and Waverly can’t shake the ‘idea’ of ushering Nicole’s parents out the door with a big shove, “Of moving all of the sudden. Where did it come from?”

“Oh, we um, well, we were just looking over our options, you know, and-”

Greg cuts Nicole off there, “I knew this sleepy little town was going to get to you at some point, Kiddo. No offense, but you were made for a big city gig and I really do think I could help you get something going. Obviously, it wouldn’t be anything big, especially since you sort of walked out on the deal with Anderson, and-”

“Dad, I never said I was going to take that job. You’re the one that set it up without asking me first.” Nicole bites out, cutting her father off.

Greg just waves her off, dismissing her comments entirely, “Anyway, I could probably talk to Roger again and see what he could do, if you two decide to do this. But Nicole,” Greg sits up straighter in his chair as he continues, looking at Nicole seriously, “You need to be sure this time; I don’t want-”

“Dad, don’t do anything yet. There’s a lot we still have to do here, okay? I’ll let you know if I need your help, but until then, just- just sit tight.” Nicole replies, looking just as sternly at her father.

Waverly’s chair scrapes against the floor as she stands, causing both Greg and Nicole to look at her. But she doesn’t care because Judy is bringing Warner back into the room- she even changed him into his jammies, and a pang of jealousy shoots through Waverly.

But at least she can breathe again. She even notices the tension in Nicole’s shoulders drain at the sight of their son.

“Hey, Little Man. Did you enjoy your time with Grandma?” Waverly asks, holding her arms out for Warner as Judy walks closer.

Once Warner is back in her arms, everything feels right with the world. Waverly smiles down at him and he seems content for a moment, sucking on his hands. She knows, though that he needs to nurse- it’s been a while, and the hand-sucking is one of his tells.

Waverly turns to Greg and Judy and excuses herself to go feed Warner. She doesn’t necessarily need to go into their bedroom to nurse him, but it feels comforting all the same. Waverly’s not exactly sure she could handle any more of Nicole’s parents for the night and on her way into the bedroom, she’s contemplating just what sort of excuse she can sell to Nicole to get their house back to themselves again.

Actually, being in their bedroom is a comfort that Waverly can’t explain in words. This feels like the only true safe space in their house, and it doesn’t hurt that the sheets smell like Nicole. Waverly feels herself relaxing, which is good because otherwise, nursing Warner would be a nightmare.

She sits down on the bed and gets Warner situated using the nursing pillow Wynonna had given her at the baby shower- it’s actually started to come in handy a lot more now, and Waverly needs to remember to thank her sister for it- whenever she gets around to actually functioning like a normal human being, that is. Their days have started to revolve around Warner, even more so than they did before the kidnapping. Waverly winces at the thought. She’s tried to avoid even thinking the word kidnapping but that’s exactly what happened.

That never-ending well of guilt starts to wash over her as she looks down at Warner, who is happily nursing. Waverly strokes a finger through his little tuft of hair. She wants to apologize over and over again- for the rest of her life, even. Nothing feels adequate, though and she knows it wasn’t her fault, but that doesn’t stop it from feeling that way.

That’s why they’re considering this move, after all. They’re attempting to safeguard their family. They’re going to do what’s best for all of them.

Waverly still can’t shake her uneasiness, though and she’s starting to think it’s not all about her family. She’s beginning to realize it’s her own fear of inadequacy welling up inside of her, screaming for her to stay just where she is.

She knows her place in Purgatory, granted she has always wanted something bigger for herself and this move could easily provide that. But at the same time, she’d lose her footing. It’s not just about herself anymore, she could handle failure if the only person she would disappoint was herself. But there’s Nicole now and most importantly, there is Warner. Waverly wants to be someone her son can be proud of-

They’re going to move.

They have to.

Staying where things are familiar, yet truly dangerous, isn’t going to get them anywhere. It isn’t going to push Waverly where she needs to be, or push her to become the person she needs to be, she knows that.

She just wishes there was some sort of middle ground, but she hasn’t come up with anything yet.

“Hey, Baby.” Nicole says, placing a hand on Waverly’s shoulder as she comes into the bedroom.

Waverly smiles up at her.

“How’re things going out there?” Waverly asks, her smile faltering now as she considers the turn the conversation took tonight.

“My mother is convinced that we should move in with her, and my Dad keeps telling me I should be sure this time. Actually, they’ll probably be coming in here in a second. Or at least Mom will, to say goodbye. I convinced them that we needed our sleep.” Nicole says with a grin.

“I mean, we do.” Waverly says with a shrug.

“I know.” Nicole sighs, deflating.

“Knock, knock?” Judy calls from the doorway of their bedroom, “I hope I’m not interrupting but I just wanted to say that it was wonderful to see you all again and I really hope we can do it again soon.”

Waverly opens her mouth to reply but then Judy is on her giving her a one armed hug with all the force she can muster, “Oh, it was _so good_ to see you, Dear!” Judy says, pulling back to give Waverly a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, um, thanks. It was really good to see you and Greg, too.” Waverly says, a bit taken aback.

“Okay, okay, we’ll get out of your hair now.” Judy says before she gives Nicole a hug and leaves the room.

Nicole follows her out and Waverly sits there with Warner, switching him from one boob to the other when Nicole comes back into the room.

“I’ll go put the casserole up. The dishes can wait until morning.” Nicole says, rubbing Warner’s back before leaving the room again. “I’ll even take Orie out and then put him up for the night.” Nicole calls from the doorway before making her way out to the living room.

Waverly sits there looking down at Warner and just thinking over everything that happened tonight. Her son is safe and happy right now and that’s what really matters and she just wants to keep that going. She just wants to do this right.

“Okay, now that that’s taken care of…” Nicole says, trailing off as she strips off her shirt, dropping it to the floor as she continues to undress as she moves to the bed, crawling in on her side.

“Hey,” Waverly starts, and she hears Nicole shift in bed behind her, only to hum in reply, “I love you.”

Nicole rolls onto her side, her hand on the small of Waverly's back as she curls herself around Waverly, “I love you too.”

“Good.” Waverly says as she picks Warner up and burps him, thankfully without incident.

The reminder that Nicole loves her is something she has needed to hear more often lately. That experience with the Revenants and Constance changed her in some ways she will never begin to explain. But Nicole is still here and still loves her and most of the time that is enough to ground her.

Waverly sets Warner down in his bassinet and goes and turns off the bedroom light before returning to the bed. As she sits down Nicole kisses her bare shoulder before Waverly slips out of her dress completely. She doesn’t even care that her clothes are falling into a crumpled heap on her bedroom floor, they can wait, they can wait forever if it means Waverly gets to suspend herself in the comfort she has found on her bed.

Of course, good things can never last too long as Warner starts fussing the tiniest bit from his bassinet. She knew he wasn’t asleep but the peacefulness was just enough to let herself, sink into for the moment.

“How about a song?” Nicole asks, spooning Waverly, “You know that always calms him down.”

“Okay, well, you’re going to have to move a bit.” Waverly says, moving to lay on her back.

Nicole complies and ends up with her head on Waverly’s stomach. Waverly’s fingers start carding through Nicole’s hair as she starts humming and then singing.

_“Dragon tales and the "water is wide"_   
_Pirate's sail and lost boys fly_   
_Fish bite moonbeams every night  
And I love you_

_Godspeed, little man_   
_Sweet dreams, little man_   
_Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings_   
_Godspeed  
Sweet dreams”_

Waverly keeps singing until Warner is out like a light. It just so happens that Nicole falls asleep, too and Waverly couldn’t be any happier as she lets her eyes close. She just lays there, breathing slowly, letting herself just listen to the sounds of her little family sleep.

She can’t sleep.

Of course she can’t.

It’s been hours already and she’s still awake, though that did make feeding Warner easier. Nicole didn’t even wake up by the time Waverly got Warner back into the bassinet, clean diaper and full belly.

She just picked up where she had left off on the song earlier and Warner was out again, though she did have to start the song over a little bit.

But sleep, still isn’t happening for her, at least.

Waverly is too preoccupied with the move. She huffs out a little breath and swipes her cell phone off of the nightstand, grabbing one of the business cards from interested buyers with her. She didn’t exactly mean to grab it but at the same time it seems fitting. She just stares at the card and the number there. Even if she was considering doing something now it’s nearly 2 in the morning and no one in their right mind would want to do a business deal now.

Instead she just starts googling houses for sale in the Denver area, starting with Greg and Judy’s neighborhood. Of course all of the houses there are wonderful but they do seem a bit out of their price range, at least given what they currently have sitting in the bank.

Selling the bar would make things easier, but Waverly doesn’t really want to think about that now. She slides the business card back on the night stand. There are other houses, more affordable for what they have now, big enough for all of them and then some.

Waverly flicks through pictures of interiors and blueprints and before she knows it, she’s actually starting to feel tired. She lets out a large yawn and places her cell phone face down on her stomach. Two seconds later, it’s buzzing in her hand and Waverly picks it up, curious and worried.

Received (3:08)  
Wynonna: You up?????

Waverly writes back a quick reply.

Sent (3:09)  
Waverly: Yeah, why?

Wynonna’s reply is instantaneous.

Received (3:09)  
Wynonna: Go outside.

Waverly’s whole body is on high alert as she reads over the text. She gets out of bed, careful to not wake Nicole or Warner, and grabs her robe from the back of the bathroom door, tying it securely around her waist as she heads for the front door.

On her way past the kitchen, Waverly contemplates grabbing a knife off of the counter- just in case this is a trap of some kind. She makes her way to the front door, looking through the peephole before she is frantically unlocking the door.

“Wynonna? What are you doing here?! It’s got to be freezing out there, come in!” Waverly says, pulling her sister into the house.

Wynonna looks spooked and now every hair on Waverly’s arms are raised. It takes a lot to spook Wynonna.

“Sorry for the late house call, I-” Wynonna checks the screen of her cell phone briefly before continuing, “Shit, is it really that late? I really am sorry.”

Waverly closes the front door and locks it, flicking on the living room light. Wynonna moves past her further into the living room and Waverly turns back around to face her sister, only to be met with Wynonna pacing in front of the couch, hands running through her hair as she goes.

“What’s going on? What’s wrong? Is Doc-?”

“Doc’s fine, it’s just-” Wynonna cuts herself off, taking a deep breath. Her exhale is shaky, and that is no comfort at all to Waverly.

“Whatever it is, you can tell me, Wynonna.” Waverly supplies, trying to calm her sister down as much as she can with pretty much no information, “Is it the Revenants? Did they-?”

“No, no, nothing like that.” Wynonna says, waving off Waverly’s guess as she continues to pace, “Holy fuck, Waves…” Wynonna trails off as she stops where she stands, looking at Waverly like she might jump right out of her skin.

Waverly runs her hands up and down the sleeves of her robe as she tries to brace herself for whatever Wynonna is about to say. “What? What is it?”

Wynonna digs into the pocket of her jacket and Waverly feels her stomach churn in anticipation.

“We have a big fucking problem.” Wynonna says, holding up a pregnancy test.

Waverly just stares at those two little pink lines- she knows they're going to change absolutely everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! There is most definitely going to be more another part to this series!


End file.
